Compilation
by JellyfishBlues
Summary: All of my older stories on a per-chapter basis, previously deleted for reasons that made sense at the time and now baffle me.
1. MonotonyWakeEpithets

Title: **Monotony**  
>Category: Cartoons » Teen Titans<br>Author: JellyfishBlues  
>Language: English, Rating: Rated: T<br>Genre: Humor/Romance  
>Published: 01-03-08, Updated: 01-21-08<br>Chapters: 12, Words: 20,081

**Chapter 1: Boredom**

**Monotony**

_After all this time,… what do I have to live for? What could possibly be left for me… If I have nothing left… then why do I keep going?... Every day the same familiar scene flies past me in a blur… But… I can't help but think… that it wouldn't matter, If I had someone… anyone… even so… that will never happen. it seems… that I have no reason… so, why do I still breathe… _

**Chapter 1:**

Raven sighed. _morning… _squirming in her massive violet bed, with a groan she found a comfortable position and once again attempted regain that blissful unconscious state called sleep. _…what reason do I have to get up…_ The empath furrowed a brow as her stomach growled. Appetite was clearly not on the same page. …_all in favor? _Moments after sarcastically counting the poll, the slightly annoyed raven opted to get her pain in the ass craving quiet. Slumping out of bed proved a challenge .._never was a morning person… was I… _Her lavender hair was still in disarray from an extended rest, and she blew it out of her face. _stupid hair.. _she rubbed her face in her palms before blinking away the sleep from her eyes.

"I need a shower…". The girl stood haphazardly on her feet and staggered to her bathroom.

Raven, face in hands, a content smile graced her pale lips as steaming water rid her of any traces of fatigue. _…something I still enjoy. _

_well…what now…._ The dark titan sat on a couch in the titans tower, _I was hungry when I got up, now I'm not, WhatTheHell. _Frowning at her own thoughts, she found the remote and started rummaging through the channels on the giant flat screen TV, browsing for something worth her time, _anything.._ The sage sighed ruefully, _should've stayed in bed… _Crossing her legs on the glass table in front of her, she turned off the idiot box and casually summoned a book from her room, opening the dusty tome, she stared dully at the text.

_meaningless… _

"…Why is everything so god damn boring!"

_well this isn't right_

Usually by now she would have three pairs of very confused eyes locked on her, accompanied by beast boys feminine shriek. Glancing around the room she confirmed, there was no one else there. At ten in the morning, there was no one there. Where was the din of white noise? Where was Cyborg whipping up stacks of pancakes, or Robin dragging his tired ass out of bed. Where was anyone?

_looks like they took the bait, time to move in_

with catlike grace, the figure jumped from her perch and landed directly in front of the doors to the T' tower. Quickly looking around, she crossed her fingers and tried the door, It silently swung open. With a small grin, Jinx slid into the tower, slamming the door behind her.

**Chapter 2: Miscalculation**

**Monotony **

**Chapter 2: **

'**Slam!'**

"Holy mother!-…."

_Crap…that was a-LOT, louder than I expected._

Removing the hand she had slapped over her mouth, By force of habit Jinx glanced sheepishly around, although she was positive she was alone.

"I can't believe I just did that…"

With a heavy sigh she started her way through the tower looking for any valuables she could carry out with her.

_looks like the S.O.S really worked_

"uuugh….they must be back"

the sudden noise shocked the psion from her relaxed pose. She'd heard that sound all to many times before, since beast boy frequently closed doors with what she defined as, "unnecessary force". She groaned and removed herself from the black couch.

_..I should make sure… I suppose. _

Raven started down the elevator to confirm that it was indeed, the other titans.

She got off at the bottom floor, and was met with who she immediately knew was jinx, how many people have wild pink hair up in horns.

Surprise soon turned to amusement, as the Feline was cautiously studying what appeared to be a pale goldenrod blob.

_This should be…interesting…_

Jinx's hot pink eyes darted around the hall. Wide at the shock of just how unkempt it was.

She stopped her stroll to get a better look at what appeared to be cheese.

_Who the hell leaves cheese lying around?_

"Beast boy I'd assume."

The thief turned rapidly around, and came face to face with a somewhat amused goth.

Her eyes widened, Why is _she _still _here_? _Crap, what do I say, whatdoisay whadoisay._

If possible, her eyes got even wider, she found herself speechless in front of this gothic beauty

"wha-"

she gasped as she was thrown against the paneled wall by a seething black energy

"What are you doing here jinx?"

"What am **I **doing here, What are **YOU **doing here?**"**

_Well that was a stupid question. _Jinx regretfully thought. Unable to compose a sarcastic comment at the moment.

"I _live _here, care to explain why _you're_ here?"

"No, not really, Hah, score one for me!"

_crap, did I just say that?_

The titan raised a brow at the girls comment, _What…_

"God damn, I cant think"

raven sighed, and released the pink haired girl. Who rather ungracefully fell to the floor with a resounding thump. And raised her head to look at the Empath with dull stare.

"Where is everyone?" raven questioned in her usual monotone voice

Jinx responded with a smirk, "Why would I tell you that?"

Raven blinked slowly.

Jinx scoffed, "fine, I sent a fake call for help. They're off searching, and will be for a while."

The sarcasm was palpable, Jinx put on her best grin and waited for a response.

She was actually enjoying this. Maybe a bit too much. Her smile suddenly faded when she got a good look at the dark titans face.

Raven, the human blizzard, The daughter of evil, was smiling. _She __**never **__smiles, ever_. Fearing that moving would get her thrown into an alternate dimension, the thief froze, not daring to budge until the empath's smile faded, _it is kind'a cute though._

Throwing caution to the wind, jinx risked voicing her thoughts

"Why are _you_ smiling, I've never seen you smile…ever."

silence

"You should more often, it looks good on you'"

met with a wide eyed stare, the thief realized, this was a chance, and hauled some serious ass away from the Psion, out and away from the tower. Sprinting until the T shrank out of her periph, and slowed her pace to a walk. She sighed…

"…I'm going home…"

Raven was still paralyzed in thought at the girls harmless comment, and realized, she was still smiling. She quickly composed herself and removed the expression. Concerned that she may have destroyed something, she examined the hall, various articles of clothing lined the walls, floors, and somehow, ceiling. Though in disarray, it was… undamaged

_Nothing happened…Goddess this is disgusting _

With a questioning glance, she eyed the item jinx had fixated on, _What the hell is this? _

**Chapter 3: A Short Talk**

**Monotony**

_I keep telling myself that I don't care what other people think, that all that matters is what __**I **__think. So why do I keep searching for recognition, for acceptance … What do I __**want**__ out of life… Do I even want anything?_

_Maybe…_

_I'm to afraid of failure to even try… _

**Chapter 3:**

Raven was still prodding the what she had called, blob, with a tendril she'd summoned from the shadows. Still oblivious to what it was exactly, she kept her distance.

_But… I should go after her…_

…_then go… _

Her thoughts won her over, and she began to pinpoint the thief's location. She was… on the roof of her favorite coffee shop, why would she be there? She placed her Index finger on the ruby red chakra crystal on her forehead, and began the incantation to teleport.

_I have no idea where I am…_

Jinx was casually inspecting her surroundings from a rooftop, looking for a sign, landmark, anything that could identify where the _hell _she was. Her sprint had unfortunately pulled her hair out of her trademark horns, so she had resorted to letting it fall back naturally.

She was surprised that her compliment had had so much effect on the usually stoic girl. Strange enough, she had meant it. The Empath was rather… _cute.._

_Did I just think cute?_

Suddenly she felt a chill down her spine, as everything around her faded to black, spun into a blur, she glanced around her slowly, suddenly feeling nausea in the pit of her stomach, looking for anything that may have caused this sudden feeling.

The world around her blended together, she lost her balance, and fell on her back. Praying that this _horrible _feeling would disappear. She blinked rapidly, trying to dissipate the horrid blackness that clouded her vision. She could see someone… standing over her. Saying…_something…_

The darkness began to recede. And the person came into focus…_raven?_

"…..nx… inx… jinx?"

Feeling much better… though still incredibly weak, the thief could only manage a simple response.

"…hi…"

Raven smiled. She was worried that the other girl may have been hurt. Her teleportation had ended up a little to close, and jinx had gotten a good dose of the magic required.

"I'm…glad you're o.k"

Pink eyes blinked slowly. The girl felt her strength returning. She slowly got up into a sitting position, now back to the empath, and pivoting, spun around while crossing her legs. Now face to face with her assailant and savior, she noticed…something was… different about her. Was she…._blushing?_ The Thief cocked her head to the side,

"are you…. Blushing?"

_gods that was cute… _

"I…uhm….uh…"

Raven tore her eyes from the girl sitting before her, and nervously glanced to the side, the red tinge on her cheeks deepening.

Jinx smirked.

"you are, aren't you."

Raven sighed. attempting to control her emotions. _Focus. Focus…why isn't this working?_

Surprised at her own inability to regain composure, she continued to avoid eye contact. The redness still ever present. _Say…something… anything!_

"did… did you mean it?"

"what", the pink haired girl replied with genuine interest

"what you said…back at the tower. Did you mean it?"

The empath cursed inwardly, _why would you say __**that…**_

"I _never_ say things I don't mean." Jinx replied matter-of-factly. Realizing the implications of what she had just _said_, a blush began creeping its way along her features. She followed ravens lead, and had to break eye contact. Her thoughts began to race. All of them saying the same thing…

…_you meant it._

Ravens' blush took on a fourth dimension. Did she just say… she _meant_ it? No one has ever complimented me… _ever. _And even if they did… it shouldn't matter this _much. _Wouldn't matter this much.

I want her… to like me?

Why…

Raven felt… warm, like nothing she had ever felt before. She felt… wonderful.

_What is this feeling?_

_I feel… good._

"thank you"

The titans response shocked the Thief out of her thoughts. Her eyes widened, and she raised her head, looking directly into those _amazing _violet eyes.

_Did she just thank me? It was just a compliment. Jeesh…. A damn good one though._

She tried to respond. A simple 'your welcome', 'yeah', anything. But was unable to think. Unable to speak in front of her.

"…uhhm.."

Raven smiled. A full, genuine, content smile.

"No ones ever said something…like that… so …thank you."

The Psion then reached out her hand, in the "I'll help you up" gesture.

'**Vvvvvvvvt'**

"Holy-"

"Holy-"

a light across the street exploded, and raven laughed nervously.

_To get that surprised by your __**own**__ phone… real smooth._

The empath quickly removed the _damned_ device from her belt. Flipping it open in a hurry.

"Raven here"

"dude, I told ya she'd be up"

after conversing with Cyborg, Beast Boy got back on focus.

"Well… we're headed back now, turns out no one needed help."

Raven glanced over at jinx, "really…wait, why didn't you tell me you left?"

"'Cause you were sleeping"

"_Why_ did you choose _now _to start being considerate?"

"You remember, after that joke me and Cy played on you… I kinda figured I owed you."

"…thanks. Raven out."

Raven calmly closed her phone, and placed it back on her webbed belt. She looked back over at Jinx, Who was sitting patiently, The empath was surprised that the thief hadn't messed up her call. Now getting a closer look at the girl, she smiled once again. She had _completely_ zoned out.

"earth to jinx, hello?"

"..huh….what?"

"I should go"

after helping the dumbstruck girl to her feet, the sorceress teleported back to her room in the tower. Vanishing in a swirl of dark energy. Leaving a blushing and confused Jinx stuck on a rooftop, having no idea where the hell she was.

"That was… weird"

**Chapter 4: Tea Time**

**Monotony**

**Chapter 4:**

"that was…weird."

Jinx frowned. She was still stuck on the roof of a Coffey shop, and had no idea where the hell she was. It wasn't like her to get lost. She always had a good sense of direction, getting lost on a heist does not a good move make. But usually she had time to get a look at where she had to go. This was different.

_Where in the __**hell **__am I?_

Raven had reappeared in her room, and flopped down onto her bed instantly, teleporting took a lot out of her. Only now realizing how tired she was. She tossed around, trying to find a comfortable position to get some rest. She groaned. She was weak, but restless. Completely unable to keep her eyes closed. She decided to go out. If only for a little bit.

She rolled off her bed, got to her feet and removed her dark blue cape, and began rummaging through her closet, looking for street worthy garments. Wearing her uniform was a bad idea when she was just going on a walk, Lots of people want pictures, autographs, and Raven was never one for the publicity.

She scowled. _I need more clothes_. Seeing as she rarely went outside, and had no need for an abundance of things she would _never_ use, she was short on casual vestments. The only appropriate things she found, a pair of black fitting jeans, and a gray long sleeve shirt, also form fitting. As for shoes, she wore the pair from her uniform. She slid her communicator into her left pocket, and started out of her room. She froze. _They_ were _here_. She didn't like to be seen at all. Let alone in something that might draw attention to herself, she was too modest, though she had no reason to be. She was to tired to transport herself, so decided to fly out her window, and across the bay.

She landed in front of the railing, after confirming that there was no one to witness her physic defying methods. She looked around once more, just making sure that she hadn't been seen. Comfortable with her secrecy, she started off to her favorite place, Luna café, it was a relatively old Coffey house, but it was quaint, and suited her tastes; no crowds, and familiar setting, dark colors. They were also one of the few places that served chamomile tea.

Among her reasons for actually leaving her safe haven, the T tower, She felt that she needed to get out more than just for crime fighting, sometimes, you just need a change of scenery, and she enjoyed her scenic walks, the crisp air, the cool breeze, it was one of the few things left that she fully enjoyed.

She approached the Luna café, and pushed her way through its freely swinging doors. Her eyes immediately adapted to the contrasted lighting between the blazing sum outside, and the dim lighting. There were few people present, among them a pink haired girl sitting in a booth out of view of the general customers.

_Jinx? Why is she here?_

Raven walked through the space between the several square tables, and sat down across from the other girl.

"Why are you still here?"

Jinx, surprised at first that raven suddenly appeared near her again, was even more at the fact that she was wearing a different outfit. Getting over her initial reaction, She was still confused, _why is she here again?_

"..I..uhm…don't know where I am."

Jinx looked down at the smooth wooden table abashedly, embarrassed that she had gotten herself in to such a situation that would make her seem vulnerable, weak. But that wasn't her main concern, it was that she would look like an idiot in front of raven.

"are you… serious?"

Raven was taken aback, unable to believe that someone like _her _could get lost, something like this had never posed a problem to the thief before, of course, this was an uncommonly targeted, and unusually quiet part of town, one of the reasons she visited it so frequently.

"I'm guessing you've never stolen something from here, huh?"

"..yeah, pretty much." Still focused on the table, she was tracing a grain in the wood, looking for anything that could hold her interest, and keep her from embarrassing herself further.

"If you need help, I've got some time, what to order something then head out?.."

Raven was putting it out there, she wanted to get to know the vixen, even though they were on different sides of the law, she felt that they had much in common, they could be… friends, maybe more than that.

Jinx peeled her focus off the table, and looked back up at the empath, wondering why she would help her, _I'm a thief… you're a hero. Why help me, with something so… pathetic _

Still, she was excited, she smiled inwardly, though still considerably red at her situation, this was an opportunity for them to … hang out, and have both of them go home when it ends.

"That'd be nice, thanks, well, I've never been here before, so what's good?"

Raven grinned, "I… don't know either, the only thing I ever order is tea."

Raven chuckled, and jinx snorted an a rather un-ladylike fashion.

Neither of them were hungry. Or thirsty for that matter, though, both of them to caught in the moment to admit it. They both looked at each other, laughter dying down, and both smiled.

"Maybe… we should just… you know… go?", Jinx suggested.

"Sounds good… wait-", realization, "…how can I help you home if I don't know where you live?"

"Way to kill the mood… "

"If you need a place to stay, for the night I mean, you could… stay at my place?"

Another unexpected moment for the thief. Though she would've suggested it had raven not, it was still a surprise, _for her to invite __**you **__over. Sounds like fun…_

"I'd love to… if you don't mind."

"s'no problem", raven slurred, she was just as shocked as the other girl that she had requested such a thing, more so that the other girl had actually… agreed to it. But, she was glad that they could spent some time together… they both were.

"Good lord that was close…"

Ultimately, the empath was still to weak to teleport them both, so was forced to fly them up, putting them both in a rather embarrassing situation… how to carry jinx? In the end, Raven had decided just to get her an a tight bear hug, and fly them both through her still open window, at the very top of the tower. In view of the window, they both realized something…

…_how are __**we **__going to fit?_

Several position changes later accompanied by contained laughter, the thief was tossed in, and landed in a heap on the Psion's bed, who then followed in a much more… graceful fashion, flew in, and set down on her feet.

"Tolja we'd make it." Jinx said with a grin. She was still a little shaken at the near miss, a couple inches to the left, and she would've face-planted. She took a look around the room, just then realizing that she was actually _in_ ravensroom.

"you know, I've only been in here once, but I never really _looked_ at anything, do you have like… stuff?"

The empath frowned, she'd long since been bored with… well.. mostly everything, the only things she kept around were various books, on the twin massive shelves on either side of her bed. And she doubted that those would be… interesting, to the energetic girl.

"… No, not really."

The thief applauded inwardly, "we need to go shopping, get you…what?, Clothes?"

"Why not", raven said dryly

"Good, it's a date-I mean… uhhhm…"

_did she just say date?... _"…Sooooo… it's a date, huh?", raven grinned

"I… uhhh…yeah?", Jinx looked up at the titan, and smiled, though blushing furiously. That had come out _completely _wrong. She wasn't opposed to the idea, but she would have preferred to have been a bit more subtle.

"OoooK. It's a date then", The frown found it way back to the empath, who just realized she'd asked Jinx over for the night, and only had one bed. She decided to search the tower for a sleeping bag, pillows, blankets, anything that could somehow form a makeshift bed.

"I'm gonna go look for an extra bed, you can take a shower if you want", she gestured to the bathroom," I have some clothes you can borrow."

_I probably need one… _"Sure"

Raven walked over to her closed, while jinx jumped off the bed and followed the teen, interested as to what she would have. Raven grimaced, the best thing that she could lent were a pair of checkered pajamas. And the only reason she had those was because they were comfortable. She reasoned with herself, they weren't completely atrocious… _sort of…_

She sighed, _nothing I can do… _She distastefully grabbed the garments and tossed them to the pink haired girl, who missed, then bent down to retrieve them. She got a good look at them,

_I have these too…_

Jinx laughed, "I have these too, aren't they really comfy."

Raven's smile beat her frown, she was surprised that something like that would happen. _Really, what are the chances… _"Yeah… well… there's clean towels in the bath, I'm gonna' look for the bed."

The empath glided over to the door, which slid open, and went off to see if there was _anything _she could use.

Jinx sat on the bed. Still in disbelief that something like this could happen. _Nothing special, just taking a shower… in ravens room…_

"well….yeah."

The feline mosied over to the shower, and glanced into the bath… _there really are towels __**in **__thebath… _She reached down and removed a grey one, and hung it over the sink, and walked over to the shower. She stared… and stared, _oh-my-god, this shower is __**huge! **_She slid the slightly translucent door over, taking in all the glory. And glued her eyes on what had to be the biggest showerhead she had ever seen. _…Damn…_ She removed her clothes, and hurled them into the basket in the corner, eager to test out this masterpiece of engineering. She stepped in and turned it on. Water rained down on her, starting out cold, and slowly working up to steaming hot.

"This feels great."

_Why do we never have anything?_

Raved glared at the empty cabinets, which had more food than bed-related items. _Damnit beast boy, why would you put food here? _She forcefully exhaled, hoping that her anger would conjure up what she needed.

Giving one last death look at the mostly empty cabinets, she started back upstairs to her room. Unsure as to what Jinx's reaction would be. She slid open her door and stalked back in, letting the automatic hinges close it.

Jinx was sitting on the bed, clothed in the checkered pajamas, grey towel around her neck, her bright pink hair down and slung over her shoulder, and a dreamy look on her face.

"Good, right?"

"that shower… is…is…", the vixen was at a loss for words. "…good.."

"right…well…", the titan glanced nervously around, "I couldn't find anything, so we'll have to share the bed."

"Sounds good, which side you want?"

"either's fine"

"Then I got left!", jinx got off the bed and pounced on her side.

"I guess I'll take a shower", she turned her head back at the thief, who was curiously eyeing a Victorian mask that was hung on her wall, "if you don't know what it is, don't touch it, I'll be out in a while." Raven took for the shower, grabbing a towel.

After she was finished toweling off, she realized something… _I don't have a change of clothes…_

Being far to modest to prance out barely clothed, she went to pick up her old ones, she had thrown them in the same hamper as jinx. She peered inside. _Cant put those back on… _Her lust for long hot showers, along with her distaste for the steam that fogged up just about everything, had forced her to leave the window open, _its raining…who knew… _

Having no choice but to walk out in a tiny black towel, the empath padded along the tiled floor with careful steps, From a previous experience and resulting head injury, She knew 'wet' and 'floor' don't mix. Cautiously opening the door, she peered through the crack to see if she had reason to be embarrassed. There, lying face down in the _exact _center of the bed, was a sound asleep jinx. _…lucky…_

She snuck across the dark blue carpet, unsure if any noise would wake the thief. Reaching her closet, she sighed inwardly, _made it._ She slowly opened the sliding door and retrieved her change of clothes. Black satin PJ's. She dropped the towel. And picked up the top so she could hurry the _hell_ up and get them on.

"Woah, You're….Hot!", Having figured the empath for the modest type, she faked sleeping so the other girl could comfortably get out of the shower, the only reason she knew this would happen is because she watched raven stroll into the bath, sans a change of clothes. Far be it from her to pull something so devious, but all she'd ever seen the titan wear that was the least bit revealing was what she wore at the Luna café.

Ravens previously composed form tensed up, and her natural grey skin tone paled. She was _naked. _Her change of clothes flew on her in a blur, and she about faced to get a look at the what she assumed, laughing thief. She was met with something quite different. She was…smiling.

"You look great, why do you always wear such constricting stuff?"

Raven relaxed, jinx's reaction was nothing like she's assumed it would be. She was still torn from what the other girl had just said. She'd always been uncomfortable around people, having people see her. This was different… it wasn't _anyone_… it was jinx.

"Curiosity killed the cat"

"…touché."

Raven smiled, "don't be such a smartass"

"as much as I'd love to argue, I'm tired" , the pink haired girl yawned, and flopped down on the mattress, crawling under the covers, "…bed…sleep…"

raven hit the lights and slid under the sheets next to jinx. They were both tired, it'd been a long day. Raven sighed dreamily. something smelled nice, like… orchids, She had always loved that smell. Just never realized it until then.

**Chapter 5: Morning**

**Monotony**

_I… keep asking myself, telling myself, that I don't care if someone is better than me… happier than me. So, why do I repeatedly compare myself to others-when they have __**nothing**__ to do with me… What makes them so much better than me… What makes them so much god-damn __**better **__than me. _

_Maybe… that's just my destiny… to look on with envy… _

… _what a load._

**Chapter 5:**

"ugh…morning", Jinx groaned and twisted around, only to find that she couldn't. _is something… on me? _She lifted the covers, raven was wrapped around her, still sound asleep, a small smile on her lips. The thief smiled.

_She is sooo cute._

The pink haired girl's eyes narrowed on a strand of hair that had fallen across the empath's face. She cautiously reached down to brush it off, Not wanting to wake her. The psion shivered at her touch, and tightened her hold. The thiefs' mind screamed at her,

_Kiss her!_

Jinx was hesitant…

_what if she wakes up? What if she hates me for it… What would I say…_

She was worried… worried was an understatement, she didn't want to lose the friend she had just made.. but, she couldn't stop herself. Her smile receded, she closed her eyes and she leaned down, slightly puckering her lips, mere inches away from her goal.

"Mnnn", Raven moaned, still fast asleep. Jinx quickly pulled away, careful not to startle the other girl.

"…uuaaa-oooph."

Jinx fell off the bed onto the plush carpet, taking the titan with her. It seemed when she pulled away, she got to close to the edge. The fall left them in a rather odd position. Raven was still binding the other girls movements, though the blunder had made them switch places, Jinx was now firmly pressed against the other girls slowly rising chest. Who had somehow managed to stay asleep. _She sleeps like a rock…_ Jinx was unable to extract herself, so had to wake the empath.

"raven… wake up… raven… raven?"_, wow. she's really out of it…_

"raven"

"Hmmm…wha…", Her eyes lazily blinked open. She flushed. "why are we…like this?"

"We kinda… fell"

Raven, still tired, Slowly looked up at the bed. then back down at jinx. Her thoughts going excruciatingly slow. _I…we…she…uhhmmm...how did… _Her head slowly fell back down to the floor.

"Can we stay like this… for a little while…", the psion was far to tired to move _or _think, and being pressed against the other girl, who was still warm, felt all to good. She wanted that moment to last forever.

The pink eyed girl blinked several times, making sure she wasn't having some _wonderful _dream. Sure that she was awake, the pink haired girl lowered her head, placing her chin on the empaths shoulder, nuzzling into the other girls neck. She inhaled deeply and smiled, the titan smelled of lavender.

"…Yeah"

Jinx wasn't even close to falling back to sleep. Buy lying on that warm, beautiful girl wasn't something she was about to pass up. lying there forever seemed a preferable alternative to actually taking the steps to start the day.

_Pheh, who needs to eat anyways… _

"Hey raven, get up!", the shapeshifter began noisily banging on the metal door

"Raven?", Usually by now he would have one very P.O'd sorceress giving him the death glare, he knew raven wasn't exactly an 'early bird', but it was past three and she still hadn't left her room. That, and, him and Cyborg had played rock paper scissors to see who'd be the one to wake sleeping beauty, and far be it from beast boy to back out of a bet.

"hey, don't make me go elephant, cause you know I will!", a valid threat

_**knock knock knock, "Hey raven, get up!"**_

Two pairs of eyes shot open. Sleepy though raven may have been, the green boys antics were enough to get her active. Jinx, having never actually _fallen_ asleep, had no problem reacting, and had to close her mouth before she yelled. Pink and Violet eyes glanced at each other, then to the door, which looked like it would be kicked in by Van Dan at any moment. After being released, the thief got to her feet, and helped the empath up, _really not a morning person, are you…_

Raven ushered the other girl to her walk in closet, closing it enough to look it from far away, she walked back over to yell at whoever was causing all that _damn _noise.

"Raaaaaveaaah-" Halfway through his wakeup call beast boy unleashed his girly shriek, as the door slid open and two pairs of glowing red eyes stared at him. Several seconds later, four reverted back to two, and the shapeshifters scream died down.

"…you're awake."

"Really… why in gods name were you doing that?"

"dude… its like, four in the morning"

"…are you… serious?"

The green lad merely looked at her, unsure if _she _was serious. Deciding that he should probably get the hell out of there from the look on the empath's face. _Guess she was serious_

He slowly backed away and tore down the hallway.

Raven was still frozen, _**four**__ in the morning? I've never slept that late... _She sighed and closed the door. Remembering that she still had a teenage metahuman in her closet. She went back to give jinx the all clear, but approaching the closet, she noticed it was already open. _Where did she go?_ Raven looked around her room, finding the girl sitting on her bed prodding a tome she'd gotten from her left bookshelf. She was completely absorbed, so the empath took that opportunity to sneak up on the thief and surprise her. She took her first step.

"What language is this?", Jinx looked up at the empath, flipping the book around and gesturing to the print.

Raven stopped, then walked over to the pink haired girl, sitting next to her.

"Its Latin, that's just a book of folk tales."

"huh…", Jinx closed the book and placed it back on the shelf. She returned to her seat, and looked over at raven.

Raven frowned. Remembering _why _she had slept in so late _oh, my, __**god.**__ I cant believe I did that… _Still unsure if her mind was playing tricks on her, she turned and caught the other girls eye.

"did we really…"

Jinx started, had she been found out? She refocused on the dark haired girl, _she isn't angry… so… its not that. But… why __**did**__ I do that? _

"-…sleep on the floor?"

The pink haired girl visibly relaxed, relieved that her secret was safe.

"A little bit…"

"…A little bit?"

"well, for a couple of hours.", she reasoned

"Oh, well that changes everything", the titan replied dryly. _Note to self, work on being competent in the morning._

"Hey, you asked for it. Anyways, what now?, I'm in a tower with five superhero's, four of which would toss me in jail if they knew I was here."

Raven sighed, jinx was right. "I can fly you out if you can find your way home."

"I found my way here didn't I.", she replied smugly

"…time and place, jinx, well, lets go."

Four feet connected with solid ground. The pair separated.

"Thanks for inviting me over, I had fun… even though we didn't _do _anything", jinx said with a grin

"love you too.", she turned to start her trip back to the tower. But froze as she felt two slender arms wrap loosely around her waist.

"Really… I had fun", the thief removed herself from the frozen teen and firmly slapped her on the back. She turned and sprinted off into the distance, "See ya!".

The empath smiled. And started her flight back to the tower.

safely back in her lair, the dark titan figured it was time to get some air, lest she get another wake up call. She walked through her door and down the hall, headed to the kitchen, 'cause _god _was she hungry. She turned the corner. Beast boy and Cyborg were playing some racing game, robin was holed up in the corner blasting punk rock out of his stereo, and Starfire was preparing… _something_. Not wanting to disturb the others, she stealthily moved over to the fridge, hoping to find anything edible. Suddenly she was plucked off the ground in a bone breaking embrace,

"Friend raven, you are smiling!"

raven gasped her morning greeting, "hi star", _wait… I'm smiling? _It seemed she was mildly pleased. _Must've been jinx…_ which for her, was the equivalent of being _very _happy. She quickly erased any visible expression.

"You must inform me why, did you engage in the mall shopping?", the tamaranian was ecstatic, she had never seen the other titan smile, and was greatly interested as to what put her in such a good mood. She plopped the girl down, and firmly grabbed her shoulders. An ear to ear grin on her face.

"It's… nothing, star.", the aliens appearance sobered a bit.

"Is it perhaps… a 'secret'?", Starfire was highly perceptive of other people, the only reason she seemed a little ditzy was from the way she spoke. English _was_ her second language after all. Still, she could hear the hesitation on the other girls normally calm and collect voice. A sly grim formed on her lips.

Raven tried to change the subject, "What are you making?"

The tamaranian didn't want to pry where she wasn't wanted, seeing the other girl trying to avoid the subject, she went along with it. She grabbed ravens right wrist and pulled her over to the counter. She released the empath and picked up a dinner place covered with blue jelly, Filled with what looked like chunks of meat.

"This is the traditional breakfast of my homeworld, Gragnaskork. Do you wish to try it?", the alien questioned hopefully.

Raven tried not to flinch as the thingjiggled, "No thanks star, I was just gonna' have an apple". The taller girl seemed to accept her answer, she nodded quickly and pranced off to complete her meal, still extremely curious as to the cause of her friends new outlook. Raven completed her trip to the fridge and opened the top door. There, on the bottom shelf in a mostly empty box, was a _flawless_ green apple. She snatched the thing out of its box, fearing the food preserver would sprout teeth and devour it if she didn't hurry. She closed the fridge door and took a bite.

_Its… good._

She didn't like sour things, but it was surprisingly juicy considering it was a granny smith. the smile reappeared on her lips, She glided over to the table and took a seat. She turned the chair around so she could observe the death match going on between beast boy and the Hulking teen.

"Dude!... Dude! How did you do that? I thought I was ahead!", beast boy had just been shot down.

"It's a mystery…"

"But there aren't even _weapons _in this game!", the green boy was thoroughly confused.

"We can sit here arguin'…"

"…I'm waiting for the or… aah! You did it again!", the lad decided to get his head back in the game, thinking if he went all out he could regain his place at first.

Raven stared at beast boy in disbelief, _how could __**he **__not know? He plays that game more than any of us. _Since you **chose **your car, he always chose one built purely for speed, however, Cyborg had tried all of them out, his slower car was heavily armored, and came with a weapon. Which if used correctly could decide a match. She decided against telling him, still a little aggravated from the prank he had pulled… _though, they __**both **__did it… would my telling gar exact revenge on cy?... no, I'll wait for a better moment. _She chuckled to herself, _just wait… you'll get yours. _

- The Prank -

Ravens' love of long hot showers was common knowledge among the other titans, seeing as after combat training, she deemed herself needy of one. The others would not see her for quite some time.

Beast boy was the prankster, rather, the one who decided who to prank. his co-hort in crime? Cyborg. Both of them voted that it was ravens turn, and produced an ingenious plan.

During one of ravens showers, Cyborg hacked the door to her room, which was locked, and they both stealthily snuck in. replacing all of ravens possible wardrobe choices with neon pink ones, also making sure to hide her regular clothes.

Forty five minutes later, the lights in the east wing exploded.

Jinx walked down the sidewalk, less than a block from her apartment. _Almost…home? Shit!_

She quickly backed up and turned into an alley. She cautiously peered around the corner, Dozens of flashing red lights met her stare. _I don't get it… I stopped stealing things a while ago, why would they be here?_ She glanced back up at the building. The door to her room still closed, and showing no sign of forced entry. _Looks like they aren't for me. Thank god. Then… why are they here?_ She looked around, but found nothing that would require such a substantial police force.

Unfortunately, going clean doesn't erase the past. She was still a wanted _and_ easily identifiable criminal. And the last thing she wanted was to be thrown in a maximum security prison.

_What now?..._, the girl could easily take out the perpetrators, but that would contradict her intentions to give up crime. She had no where to go, all of the former hive members considered her a traitor. Apparently with the hive, it's with or against. She was in a certain respect, the black sheep from a band of thieves.

_I guess I could go back to the titans… how could I explain myself though?, _They had a broader perspective then the hive, but still. They would be apprehensive to let a former villain spent the night. Understandable of course, they did have a history. Herself and two other students had taken control of the tower in the past. Part of the reason she revisited it again. She'd lost an important keepsake in the reclamation. _They might believe me. Well… it's worth a shot._

She got one last look at the crime scene, and tore down the alley, back to the tower that loomed in the distance.

Raven had quickly lost interest in watching beast boy getting his ass handed to him. And had stalked back to her room to see if she had anything interesting she could do.

_God damn I'm bored!_ , She came up empty handed in her search. The empath sighed and fell back onto her bed. Dully staring up at the window. She rested there for what seemed an eternity.

_**Click. **_

She didn't budge

_**Click.**_

She frowned. _What the hell is that?_. She sat up and stood on her bed, staring out the window, She swore something had just hit it. Seeing no evidence, she took one last look at the ground. She could barely make out a figure. She squinted. They picked up something… and threw it.

_**Click.**_

The rock hit the window next to hers with a resounding thump. Her mood worsened, _Who would be throwing rocks at the tower? _Annoyed, she slid open the window and glided out to the ground to confront whoever had disrupted her restless sleep.

_This __**seemed**__ like a good idea… _

jinx stared up at the massive structure. Sneaking onto the island had taken no small effort, there were an abundance of security cameras. Now facing the T tower, she stood in awe. She knew where ravens window was… but had no idea that it was so far off the ground.

_How am I going to get in? I cant exactly waltz through the front doors… _

The pink haired girl looked at her surroundings, for something she could use to get the dark titans attention. As it was impossible for her to get up _there _on her own.

She looked at the ground beneath her feel and laughed, _I'm stupid. _She picked one of the many rocks on the island and hurled it at the topmost window. It took her a few tries to actually hit it.

Many tries later, she saw movement. The window slammed open, and out flew the one person she wanted to see.

_Jinx? _Raven descended to the waiting girl, a questioning look on her face. As she touched down, she could see the worried look on the pink haired teen, _Why is she nervous?_

"Could I spend the night here again?", the girl asked hopefully

"Elaboration would be nice… I thought you went home."

"Yeah… about that.", the girl shifted her feet. "I was… unable to use it.", She bit her lip, hoping the titan would buy her story.

"…Unable… To use it… what, the coppers or something?", raven grimaced

_damnit! _"Yeah… I'm not really sure why they were there though…"

"Well, you _are _a thief."

She held up her pointer finger, "Correction, _was_ a thief. I haven't broken the law in a while, M'tryin to go clean."

"Then why did you sneak into the tower?", Raven snapped

The former thief's expression dropped, she knew lying would get her nowhere, but didn't want to bring up her past. Still, she answered honestly. "When… back when I was with the hive, we took over the tower. Then you guys took it back. Well… I kind of… left something. Important to me. I wanted to find it. That's all.", Her smile returned, relieved to get her intentions out in the open.

Ravens good mood returned. She had no idea that jinx was trying to reform. She'd never even considered it. She was glad, that meant that they wouldn't have to fight. She doubted she would be able to again anyways. Now, she could even try to explain the situation to the other titans, maybe clear things up for the reformed thief.

"I believe you, but… I'm not so sure the others will… and… what did you forget?, I could help you find it."

Jinx looked down at her boots, "A necklace"

Raven chuckled "You don't really seem like the jewelry type, so… why's it so special to you?"

Jinx ruefully smiled, "My mother gave it to me… when she was alive.", anguish laced her words. Raven could feel her remorse. _They must've been close…_ She wanted the girls pain to stop.

"We'll find it. I promise.", with a smile, raven offered her hand to the downtrodden girl, who rubbed her clouding eyes with her palms, and took it. They walked over to the doors to the tower, both nervous at what they had to do.

**Chapter 6: Necklace**

**Monotony**

**Chapter 6:**

Jinx, Beast Boy, Cyborg, and Starfire all stood outside the observation deck, While Raven and Robin were inside, The boy wonder screaming his head off, and raven calmly making him look like an idiot. Minutes later, robin stomped out of the room, glaring daggers at the girl that followed him.

His eye twitched as he looked over at the pink haired girl, "You… can stay." Trotting off in a mechanical fashion, he headed to the gym to work out his apparent frustration.

The dark haired titan glided over to jinx, "Italked it over-,", she nodded to the retreating figure, "-the _jackass_ agreed to give you the guest room."

"**Give**_"_, everyone shouted

The empath took a step back, "His idea, said you're too dangerous to be left alone, and since I wouldn't let him turn you in…Well, you get the picture.". She smiled, before getting yelled at, robin had brought up the former thief's criminal record. It appeared the girl _had_ been lying low for quite some time.

"C'mon, I'll show you your room.", she wrapped her arm around jinx's shoulder and pulled her off to the elevator. Leaving beast boy and Cyborg staring at each other in disbelief, and Starfire with a goofy grin on her face. _Finally, _another girl in the house.

Raven and Jinx got off at the top floor, jinx, still restrained by the other girls arm, had to walk at an angle as raven took down the hallway. They came to her new room. Raven entered the code to turn on the lights, water, and heat, since Cyborg didn't want to waste power when it wasn't needed. She removed her arm from around the thief's shoulder. Grabbing her hand, she guided it to the concealed switch to open the door. Which promptly flew open. The empath dramatically stepped aside and beckoned the other girl in.

Jinx squinted at the strange antics of the other girl, but nonetheless, went in first. She immediately froze. _…This… Is… HUGE!_

The room was roughly the same size as ravens, a basic shower setup to the left, enormous mattress in the far corner, with a sunroof directly overhead. The most shocking of all; the color scheme was a dull grey, save the bed, which was an outrageous shade of pink. Though it was grossly under furnished, it still beat the hell out of her run down apartment.

The girl defrosted and stumbled further into the humble abode. She approached the bed and fell onto it with a sigh.

"It's perfect."

The empath smiled, glad the other girl was content. "Sorry bout the lack of… stuff_…_ but, we can get some on our _date_." The pink hared girl tensed, and ravens grin turned maniacal, the titan was pleased that she could do the teasing for once.

"Uhhm.. yeah. On our date…", jinx hid her face in the thick covers.

Ravens creepy grin faded as she walked over to the bed. Sitting next to the embarrassed girl and gently pulling her up into a sitting position.

"Before that… I have something for you.", raven reached into her belt, and pulled out a silver necklace. She wrapped it around the other girls slender neck, clasping it on the back.

Jinx slowly reached up and touched the chain, before firmly grasping it.

"You found it?", the girls eyes began to water.

"Robin found it under the fridge and put it in storage a while ago… I'm glad that you got it ba-", the titan was tackled to the bed in a tender embrace.

"Thank you…", Jinx smiled through the tears, holding the other girl tighter in an attempt to get her emotions across.

Raven blushed at the intimate contact. She slowly moved her arms up, returning the embrace. They laid there for a while. Comforting each other. Raven was the first one to break the silence.

"If you're ok talking about it… what happened… with your mother?", the empath knew that it was a shaky topic, but she felt it would help if they talked about it. She shivered as the pink haired girl suddenly buried her face into her collarbone.

"It's… a long story."

Raven tightened the embrace, "I've got time."

Jinx began. "My mother… she was raped, got pregnant. But… she decided to keep the baby… me. I was born normal… and I stayed that way… up until my eighth birthday. That's when I started changing… My eyes, my hair… my skin… everything changed. And everything fell apart. My mother tried to treat my like I was normal… but… all she saw when she looked at me was a freak… one day, she snapped. She _abandoned_ me. Just got up and left… she took everything with her, the only thing she left behind was this necklace… This one, damn necklace… I don't know why I keep it… but… I can't make myself let it go. I _can't _abandon it, I wont…Then I'd be like her… She may still be alive somewhere-but she is_ dead_ to me."

"…I'd nev…" a sharp intake of breath, "never abandon you". By the end of the story, raven was in tears. Saddened that something so tragic had occurred in the girls life.

"… Really?", Jinx removed herself from the other girl and looked her in the eyes, seeing that she was tearing up just as much.

Raven pulled the other girl into a reassuring embrace, she put her chin on the girl shoulder and whispered in to her ear.

"…Really."

Jinx smiled, the tears continued to fall, for a different reason.

"Can we… stay like this… for a while…"

"…Yeah… and… I'm glad you trusted me enough… to tell me."

Jinx sniffled, "…any time…"

Raven gently rubbed the girls back, hoping to coax out the bright, energetic, happy girl. She didn't like seeing the former thief so sad… It made her sad. She wanted her to be happy… them _both _to be happy.

"… Damnit. cheer up, you're making me cry.", the girl managed between sobs.

The pink haired girl sniffled once again, before chuckling, "sorry my life is so depressing…"

"I forgive you."

They shared a laugh.

Raven playfully poked the other girl in the chest, "and you are _not _a freak, got it?"

"Yeah"

"good"

They both looked at each other and smiled, before settling back into the embrace.

Beast boy padded down the hall. Raven and Jinx had been gone a long time, he wondered where they were. He had already checked ravens room, and the other titans rooms for that matter. The only one left was Jinx's room… which he was hesitant in checking, he still didn't fully believe she was on their side. He approached the door. Pressing the button, the door slid open, and he froze. Staring at the two girls embracing on the bed.

"What are you doing?"

They tensed. Raven immediately sat up, displacing the girl on top of her, who flipped over to the far end of the bed before rolling off. Raven glared over at the intruder with a blush on her face.

"We… uh… we were just… you know…"

Jinx also got to her feet, glancing over at the green boy. A smirk on her face.

"Making out", she said casually

The green lads jaw dropped. He absent mindedly stared around the room, as if looking for evidence. He glanced back at the girls.

"Did you two really…", he meshed his fingers together, staring at them blankly

Raven was at a loss for words, she looked over at the pink haired girl for support. Who returned the glance, and looked back at beast boy.

"Yep"

The boy paled, turned on his heels, and limply staggered out of the room, the door closing behind him. The empath glared back at the former thief, who's grin widened.

"You know you want to"

The redness on ravens face intensified. She looked away, embarrassed that the other girl had said something like _that _to beast boy. Whom _everyone _knew couldn't keep a secret, even a fake one.

"I get the feeling this is gonna come back and bite us in the ass", jinx said after gauging the other girls reaction. Raven looked back up at her, the blush still present.

"Probably, he couldn't keep a secret to save his life"

Raven sat on her bed. The other titans, as well as jinx had long since gone to sleep. However, the sorceress couldn't stop thinking about the other girl. She looked over at a silver mirror that was splayed out on the floor. _Nevermore might help me get things in order_

She sighed, and slowly got off her bed. Walking over to the mirror, she gently picked it up and gazed at her reflection.

"Azarath… Metrion… Zinthos."

The dark titan briskly strolled the path, rocks of various sizes crunching beneath her feet. She ignored the crows and darkness around her. _Knowledge… where are you?..._

She stopped and spun in a circle, getting a 360 degree view. She stopped as she saw a flash of yellow in the distance. Walking in that direction, she soon came across a figure in a yellow hooded cape. They were sitting on a rock, occupied with a fairly large book.

"Knowledge"

The figure closed the book and slowly looked up at raven. "Curious… what are you doing here?"

"You know why I'm here.", the titan blandly responded.

"Wondering why you cant stop thinking about her? As much as it pains me to say it, you're asking the wrong emotion."

_Huh… _"Who should I ask then?"

"Happiness should suffice.", the figure reopened her tome and picked up where she left off.

_Happiness… _the titan was irked, among her various emotions _happiness_ got on her nerves the quickest. So did where she knew to find her. The empath started off to find her answer.

_god I hate this. _Raven was standing in the middle of a field filled with pink and purple flowers. She could see happy lying down further ahead, she walked forward to meet the eccentric girl

"Happy."

The girl looked up, a brilliant smile on her lips. "Hey ravie. So… have you told her yet?"

Raven frowned, "Told who what?"

The girl got to her feet, giddy with excitement, "You know, the girl with the pink hair"

_Jinx… that's half an answer. _"go on"

"That you like her"

Raven coughed. _I __**like **__her? But… but… _

"Why do you say that?"

"Cause it's the truth silly", the girl waved her hand nonchalantly

_Well that didn't help a damn bit._ Raven sat back on her bed, still unable to sleep. _Might as well go through the motions, _She decided, hoping that setting the atmosphere would knock her unconscious. She got under her covers and closed her eyes.

_I'm so tired. _Raven sat on the couch, her head leaned back for support. She hadn't gotten a wink of sleep, and since she needed at least 10 hours a day, it had hit her fairly hard. Jinx had gotten up at the same time as the empath had lost all hope of sleeping.

Jinx had had a wonderful dream, a smile plastered on her face as she took down the hallway toward the kitchen. As she was about to pass ravens door, it suddenly slid open, and out she stumbled, half asleep.

"Raven, why are you up so early?"

no response

"Raven?"

The girl grunted and lifted her head, acknowledging the other girls presence. She dragged her feet down the hallway. Jinx carefully followed the girl, ready to catch her if she fell.

The pink haired girl hummed a tune to herself while preparing breakfast for her and the sleeper, "Are you awake enough to eat?"

"Mn…uh. Sure.", her head lolled about

"That's a definite maybe.", the girl grinned before going back to watching her omelet, making sure it didn't burn. Several slow minutes later she slapped it on a plate and walked over to raven, sitting next to her on the couch. The empath promptly fell into the other girls lap.

"Food?"

The pink haired girl smiled, and cut a small piece from her omelety goodness,

"Say 'Aaah'"

"Ah"

She slowly put the slice in the other girls mouth, careful not to stab her with the fork.

"…Your cooking's terrible…"

Jinx was about to respond when robin stomped into the kitchen, he immediately caught the reformed thief's eye.

"Jinx", he said with as much distaste as possible

"Snobin", she tried not to laugh hysterically at her ridiculous pun.

The boy wonders eye twitched.

"Mmmmn… mo-", she yawned, "Morning snob-roblin", raven tried to mimic jinx, but was still to tired to correctly pronounce his name.

Robin craned an eyebrow. "Raven's awake?"

"No shit sherlock."

He frowned, "Where is she"

Jinx raised a hand and pointed down, "_right_ here snobin-", she started laughing, unable to contain her amusement.

Robin was seething. He sprinted to the elevator, and headed for the gym before he _killed _someone.

Jinx's laughter died down. She looked back down at the drowsy girl.

"What's the deal anyways? Am I like… a hero now or what."

"F' you wanna' be", she mumbled

"I'm not ready to fight crime an' all that… not yet. I just need some down time, ya know?"

"yeah, 'ts fine"

She smiled slightly, "Thanks for understanding."

"no prob"

"So… why _are _you up so early?"

"could'n sleep", the girl turned on her side, and snuggled her face into the other girls stomach. Jinx had to bite her lip to keep from moaning. A red tinge slowly crept across her face. The empath's breathing slowed, and she fell into a peaceful slumber.

Jinx smiled. She decided against getting up, and let the girl have her rest

"...Raven… ra-ven…raven?", Jinx gently shook the titan awake, it was midnight, and she was tired.

Raven slowly opened her eyes, and looked up at the other girl, "what?"

"Its late, we should go to bed.", jinx lifted the dark haired girl into an upright position, then got to her feet and helped her up. "G'night", The former thief turned and started back to her room.

"Wait… jinx."

She stopped, and looked back at the other girl. "Hmm?"

"Since I can sleep around you, would you mind… if… I slept with you?", the empath looked away, embarrassed.

Jinx grinned as best she could in her current wiped out state, though she hadn't so much as budged the entire day. "'Course not.", She took the girls hand and lead her to their room.

raven smiled, she was exhausted. _Finally. _She looked at the girl next to her.

"Hey, jinx?"

"…yeah", she replied sleepily

"Thanks"

**Chapter 7: Confession**

**Monotony**

_When I look outside myself all I see is pain… suffering. Do I really want a part in this world? However… It's the same inside. Everywhere I turn I see what I hope to forget. _

_I remember so clearly, how I was treated… How people looked at me… like I wasn't human-Whey __**they're **__the ones who aren't human. Even so… how can I blame them._

_God… I'm so melodramatic. _

**Chapter 7:**

"Hey, jinx?"

"…yeah?"

"thanks", Raven smiled and reached out, lightly touching the other girls arm. She felt sleep taking over, so leaned back onto the bed, pulling the covers up to her eyes.

"…Night… jinx"

Jinx put her arms above her head and writhed around, getting her morning stretch taken care of. After she felt all the kinks in her bones were gone, she sat up and flipped her hair, which was annoyingly in her face. She only wore her hair down since recently, so was still getting used to the feel of it.

The pink haired girl felt movement and looked to her right. Raven was awake, her violet eyes were open, lazily blinking in the morning light.

"Morning", raven said with a perkiness that was unheard of that early in the morning

"Morning. You're… awake.", jinx was surprised that the other girl was up at such an ungodly hour, relatively speaking.

The empath smiled, "That was the best sleep I've ever had."

"_And_ you can talk? What happened to you?"

"Oh, the usual… so, should we get up or what?"

"Hmm? oh, yeah, just let me change first", the girl threw off the covers and made a mad dash over to her dresser and began removing her clothes. Raven couldn't look away, her eyes tracing the girls gentle curves. _Damnit raven, don't look, it's not polite._ A few moments later, she managed to rip her stare off the former thief, and locked onto the floor, praying dear _god_ she wasn't blushing.

"K, 'm done, but _you _aren't. Should we stop by your room?"

Raven looked down at herself; she was still wearing her uniform that she had worn the day before.

"I guess so…"

They both headed for the dark titans room. Raven quickly entered her room in search of acceptable clothing, not wanting to keep the other girl waiting. Minutes later, the titan emerged from her den, a frown on her face.

"I have _no_ clothes",

Jinx grinned, "we can get some on our _date_"

The titan froze, _crap… I forgot about that. Well… I do need some… so…_ "Sounds like fun… wait… I don't have anything to wear _on _the date…",

"You can borrow som'a my clothes. C'mon, lets go find ya something.", jinx grabbed the other girls wrist and pulled her back, towards her room.

The two girls walked through the mall arm in arm. Raven was afraid of crowds, so was holding the other girl extremely close, lest they get separated.

"I hate this", raven scowled

"Come on, you look so cute.", jinx had picked out what she was going to buy, and it had been a little different than the dark titans tastes.

"But… it's so… not dark.", The empath was wearing Black and gray shoes, from a strange brand called _diesel,_ form fitting snow white jeans, a red and white striped T, and a light brown furry hooded sweater, zipped halfway up, leaving her uncomfortably exposed.

"Can I at least zip it up?"

"Nuh-uh", the thief smiled, it had taken no small effort to get them permission out of the house.

-Flashback-

"Hey robin, me and raven are going to the mall"

"Ok"

"WE'RE HOME!", jinx bellowed as the walked through the doors, Three bags on each of her arms bulged with newly purchased merchandise, Raven followed her, having a modest one bag in each hand.

Jinx hauled ass up the stairs, while raven who was significantly less hyper, took the elevator to her room to deposit her new stuff. After putting her new clothes in her closet, she went over to jinx's room, wondering what she was up to. She opened the door and walked in, the girl was sprawled out on her bed face down, with the blinds to the sunroof open, lazily bathing in the light. Raven grinned and snuck over to the bed, the former thief was still unaware of her presence. She jumped on the bed, landing next to the girl, who didn't move a muscle. The pink haired girl turned her head, just then noticing the other girl.

"Hey raven… what's up?"

The empath smiled, "The sugar catch up with you?", The other girl put her head back down.

"Yeah… and this is… really warm.", the pink haired girl pushed herself up, getting a sideways glance at the other girl.

"Do you have like... a pool or hot tub or something? I really need to relax, " The girl asked hopefully.

"Both, they're in the gym"

"Cool, lets change and head out", she got off the bed and shooed the other girl out so she could change.

Raven left for her room. Entering, she went to her closet, and pulled out her one bathing suit, a black bikini. She'd never used it before, so the tags were still attached.

Raven grimaced as she eyed herself in a mirror. Her suit had fit, but… it was a bit to revealing for her tastes. The bottoms still fit within reason, but her bust was a bit to large for the top. She sighed, grabbing a cape and covering herself, she left for jinx's room.

She stopped in the hall as she saw the other girls door open. Jinx walked out in a hot pink one piece. She looked at raven, confused.

"Why are you wearing that?"

"What?"

"The cape… robe thing"

"It's just…" The titan looked away, "… embarrassing."

"You _have _to show me now.", the pink haired girl was interested. She had seen the other girl nude once before, but from the back. She was curious what the dark haired girl looked like.

"I'll show you when we get there… jeesh."

Both girls stood before the hot tub.. Jinx looked down at the steaming water.

"Looks good-", she looked over at raven, "-Come on, lets get in."

Raven sighed and dropped her cloak.

Jinx took it all in. "Why are you so embarrassed, you look great."

The titan looked away, "I… I just-" , she froze as the other girl stepped forward and pulled her into an embrace.

"You're beautiful. Don't let anyone tell you anything else, cause if they do, I'd have to make them pay."

Raven blushed. Being in such close proximity to the barely clothed girl was too much for her to handle. And her saying such sweet things wasn't helping with the girls self control.

"Do you mean it?"

Jinx slowly pulled away and looked into the other girls violet eyes.

"We've been through this before haven't we"

The empath's eyes started watering, "Jinx, I-", she was effectively silenced when she felt indescribably soft lips firmly press onto her own. She relaxed and leaned into the delightful contact, before pulling away breathless.

She smiled, "I love you"

"Are we going to tell them?", Jinx sat in the hot tub, enjoying the various jets, and the busty girl sitting in her lap. She wrapped her arms around the other girls neck, her hands dangling near a very sensitive part of the other girls anatomy.

"I guess so… but… how?

"We could have beast boy _blurt _it out… if he hasn't already.", the empath was well aware of the shapeshifters capacity for keeping secrets.

"That'd work.", jinx was a bit apprehensive about informing the boy wonder, she knew the _jackass_ wasn't exactly her biggest fan. "Lets get it over with, I want to be kiss you without looking around."

"I do like being kissed… well… that still leaves when." Raven was picked up and set on the tile surrounding the hot water, dripping wet.

"How bout now."

**Chapter 8: Reaction**

**Chapter 8:**

"Well that only leaves when."

"How bout now?"

Both raven and jinx were sprawled out on the thiefs' bed.

"OK. We've got when. What about who-what-how-where and why?"

Raven frowned, "You _know_ at least three of those. As for the rest… we'll tell _all _of them, when they're distracted, that we're together, in the kitchen. "

Jinx sat up and laughed, "its like we're playing clue"

"…right… well", she sighed, "let's get this over with", the empath rolled off the bed and started for the door, she stopped when two arms wrapped around her waist.

"Onward!", the pink haired girl exuberantly gestured to the door.

The empath chuckled, "You're such a spazz.", she hobbled off to the door, the other girl was making walking significantly more difficult, for more than one reason.

"This would be a lot easier if you let go."

"Not happening"

Both the girl staggered towards the kitchen, and could already hear the other titans. Mainly beast boy and Cyborg arguing over dinner. A topic that constantly spawned conflict.

"Dude! I can't eat that, it had a FACE!"

"Well NOW it has delicious barbeque sauce on it, are you MOCKING _my _sauce?"

"I don't even give a DAMN about the sauce! It's a _living _thing!"

The pair staggered in, catching the contestants' attention, and halting the argument.

"Well NOW it's-", he saw movement in the corner of his eye, and turned away from the fuming shapeshifter. Beast boy, having followed cyborgs' lead, bolted out of the room. He had been avoiding the 'lovers' like the plaque since he supposedly 'caught them in the act', for reasons that were unknown to the people in question. Now just Cyborg, Starfire, and the _jackass _remained. All of them locked on the embracing girls.

"Why are you hugging?"

"Why are yall hugging?"  
>"Why is it that you are embracing?"<p>

Raven looked over her shoulder at jinx and shrugged. She cleared her throat, And looked back at the three confused teens.

"Well… me and jinx are- "

"-Sleeping together", the pink haired girl blurted out, a grin on her face.

There was no response, save the tamaranian, who's smile threatened to tear a hole in the fabric of reality. Robins mask fell slightly askew, and cyborgs mechanical eye rapidly blinked on and off. Raven tensed and looked back at the still maniacally grinning girl with an 'I can't believe you just said that!' look. She quickly glanced back at the titans to assess the damage.

_Well Starfire took it well… kind of… But… uhhmm… not so sure about them… _

Raven looked from person to person, Starfire was ecstatic, Robin was… something, she couldn't tell since the mask pretty much hid any expression, but from the look of his mouth, he was _pissed _off. Lastly, Cyborg could have been jinx in a robot costume. Well… half robot costume.

The _jackass _was first to break the awkward silence.

"… _really_?"

_thank god. _"Of course not!"

Jinx sneered and nodded ominously over the empath's shoulder, removing her arms from the girl, and making various indecent gestures that the others assumed to be sexual innuendos.

Robin paled and backed out of the room.

Cyborg meekly congratulated them and hauled ass down the hallway.

Starfire grabbed them both in a death hug, "Congratulations friends, I wish you much happiness!", she blasted her speech, released them, and floated off on a cloud of tangible contentment.

"That went well", the empath muttered dryly

Jinx grabbed the girl by the shoulders, spun her around, and leaned in, trapping the other girl an a passionate kiss. Raven melted, her anger evaporating. Her entire body tingled as she felt a velvety smooth tongue meet her own. She moaned into the other girls' mouth as she pulled her tightly against her body. They slowly pulled away, a blush apparent on both of them.

"Worth it"

"Worth it"

The lovers strolled through the tower, hand in hand, looking for the tin man. Raven wanted to gauge their personal reactions, and make sure they were each ok that they were together. Jinx was just happy to spend some time with her significant other. However, the opinions of the other titans wouldn't matter to either of the girls, though jinx would be more open of her apathy.

They approached cyborgs room, and jinx rather unsubtly tried to kick the door in, only to remember it slid open, and planted her food firmly back on terra firma and pulled it open.

"Hey Cy"

The hulking teen was sitting in a chair he _miraculously_ managed to fit in, and was madly typing away on one of his many computers.

Raven glared at him, "What are you doing?"

He sat straight up in his seat and coughed, he looked over at the girls, too involved to have heard their entrance. He covered the screen. "You know… programming stuff"

"…right. Well. I wanted to make sure you were fine with me and jinx being… an item"

"Oh… yeah, yall are fine. Yeh make a cute couple.", from his teasing tone they could tell he was being truthful.

"Thanks stone"

"Welcome Kat"

They both burst into laughter, reminisce of their hive days.

"Remember that time, when gizmo exploded the mashed potatoes!"

"Totally, that was _classic!_"

Raven scowled, looking between the two, "Jesus, you two are like a couple of old men!", She grabbed the girl around the waist and pulled her out of Cyborg's' gadget filled room. She muttered her goodbyes as the door slammed shut.

Jinx quickly popped her head back in the door, "And don't forget to eat, need to get some meat on them bones", she escaped before he could respond.

"We only have robin and Starfire left, lets get the _jackass_ out of the way ", both girls walked down the stairs, they figured that the person in question was viciously beating a sand filled bag to work out his anger.

"Do we _have _to?", Snobinwas the _last_ person she wanted to see.

Raven playfully pinched the other girls' shapely rear, "Yes. Don't worry about it, there's nothing he can say or do that'll change the way I feel about you, K?"

Jinx planted a soft kiss on the other girl, "Yeah"

They continued down the stairs to the gym.

"Huh…", jinx was mildly surprised. Robin had been in the last place they expected, the hot tub.

The masked teen looked up at them, and frowned at jinx, who was grinning like a maniac.

"What?"

The pink haired girl snorted, "_Why_ would you wear your mask in the hot tub?"

His frown frowned, "Is there a reason you're here?"

Raven cleared her throat, "Me and jinx wanted to make sure you're ok with us being together."

"I don't care that she's a girl, like who you like, but she IS a thief! I don't want a thief in the tower"

"_was_ a thief, you checked it yourself.", raven reasoned

"How do we know that this isn't all a trick!", he shouted

"It's not a trick!", jinx hugged the other girl possessively

He glared daggers at the pink haired girl, "Do what you want.", he settled back into the bubbling water.

"Great, lets go!", jinx dragged the other girl through the gym and to the elevator, leaving a pissed off robin stewing in hot water.

"last person is Starfire, she should be in the kitchen."

"Why are we checking her? She seemed… happy about it."

"Just making sure"

The two girls padded into the kitchen, Starfire was watching beast boy play video games. The player bolted as soon as he saw them enter. Starfire curiously observed the green boy as he fled from the scene.

"Hey Star.", the tamaranian vaulted over the couch and landed before them

"We wanted to make sure you're ok with us being… you know… girlfriends"

The alien beamed, "Very much so!", she nodded vigorously

The two girls smiled, "Thanks star", jinx walked forward and embraced the alien girl. The empath did the same. Starfire returned the gesture with as much self-control as possible, still getting them both in a death grip. "You are most welcome friends", she plopped them back on the ground, jumped onto the couch, and attempted to play where the green lad left off.

Raven looked at the girl standing next to her. "Well now what?"

Jinx smirked, "Beast boys' turn"

The lovers stood outside the shapeshifters room, the door standing before them.

"Think he'll run again?", jinx was curious how the boy would act if they cornered him

"Maybe… well, only one way to find out", raven slid the door open, and herself and jinx stepped in, closing the door behind her. Beast boy spun around in his chair, facing the girls.

"I've been expecting you"

"…Right… we wanted to make sure you're ok that we're together."

"Yeah man, it's cool.", he said with a grin

"Then why were you avoiding us?"

He looked at them both in disbelief, "You don't know? Really?"

"Just tell us!", jinx shouted

"Alright!, geesh, I didn't want to tell anyone before you did."

The lovers squinted at him, "You do realize that doesn't answer anything."

"I figured if I forgot about _you_, I'd forget about your secret."

Raven deadpanned, "Right… well… later."

The girls stepped out of his room.

Jinx looked at the window down the hall, it was pitch black outside. "It's late… weird"

"Well… I guess I'll go to bed", she started to the other girls room, and beckoned for her to follow. "You coming?", she yelled from around the corner.

"… Hell yeah.", jinx ran after the girl.

**Chapter 9: Hilariosity**

**Monotony**

**Chapter 9:**

The lovebirds had gotten up amazingly early considering their usual schedule. Around seven. The other titans had gotten up slightly before them, and were lounging about while waiting for breakfast.

The kitchen

"So what's the deal, you can't eat meat, what?", jinx was prodding the half asleep beast boy.

He managed a competent sentence, "No, no meat.", he plopped his head back down on the table with a dull thump.

She looked over at raven. "Quick with the pancakes, _slave_ woman, for I grow hungry!", jinx shouted at the dark titan, who was preparing some for her girlfriend.

Raven managed a brief glance at the other girl before turning back to the burning pan.

Several minutes later, raven walked over to the pink haired girl and dropped the plate in front of her. "Here, my mistress, I _so _hope it suits your tastes", she said dryly

"Damn well better", she muttered under her breath. She cautiously cut a piece and took a bite.

"This. Is. Bad."

"I'm gonna let that go" the titan was aware that she had said the same thing in the past, and didn't want to make a big deal out of it.

"Do I _have _to eat this?"

"No.", she stated blandly

"… well I'm going to anyways, 'cause I love you."

Raven smiled. "Nice save", she leaned in for a kiss

_Click_

They froze. Slowly pulling apart, they looked over at the green boy. He was attempting to hide something behind his back.

"Wh-What?", he said nervously

Raven gave him a death glare, "What was that?"

"Oh, nothing, nothing.", he waved them off.

The dark titan sighed. "Whatever."

Raven looked over the shapeshifters shoulder, apparently, the boy wonder had just arrived, seeing as he had just entered through the door. Robin scanned the room, stopping to give jinx a dirty look. The pink haired girl caught his… mask.

"Hey robin", she said innocently

"Jinx." He uttered as he approached the table, he got a curious look from the former thief, and raised a brow. Confusion ebbed away as he realized what her look was _for_; he'd been trying to grow a goatee. He smirked.

"Jealous?", he said while stroking his chin.

"It's like tiny gerbils crawled all over your face and died."

He resisted the urge to _murder _anyone while twitching his way over to the fridge.

Raven openly laughed at the pink haired girls comment and draped her arms over her.

Beast boy gaped at raven's amusement. He had never gotten so much as a smile out of the stoic girl, and had been trying for much longer. And that aside, she had _never_ laughed at anything, ever.

The dark titans laughter died down, and she softly kissed the other girl's neck. "What would I do without you?"

Jinx shrugged

Go city mall

"_Why_ are we here again?" raven was never one for the crowds, and usually limited venturing through masses of people to once a year.

"Hell if I know, Snobin's the one that dragged us here." The former thief was just as annoyed, she'd wanted to spend all day alone with her significant other. The only reason she was even there was because she didn't want the other girl to go alone.

Raven pulled the other girl closer as a particularly creepy individual slithered past her. Wheezing out puffs of smoke with each step, though he had no cigarette clamped in the putrid vice that was his mouth. She assumed he had "accidentally" inhaled it, which was actually a more _efficient_ way of acquiring lung cancer.

She got as close as possible to the other girl and whispered into her ear, "Why _did _he drag us here?"

Jinx looked around quickly before leaning in to the other girl's ear. The titan listened attentively, and almost jumped as she blew in her ear.

Jinx chuckled at the slightly startled girl before telling her _why _they were in that hellhole called a shopping center.

"Something about… " _wait… _"Uhhhm… I don't know either.", she grinned

"I'm _so _lucky I have you around", she said wryly

"Damn strai-", she stopped mid sentence as she saw the _jackass_ morphing in the edge of her periph. She turned her head to look at him. He was holding several bamboo sticks, god knows where he found them, though the pink haired girl had a theory. She eyed them curiously.

"I _sincerely_ hope you washed them off."

Robin eyed her, "Huh?"

"Nothing, nothing", she brushed him off with a wave of her hand.

He grimaced, having just got the implication.

Jinx smirked at the boys expression, "Bit slow on the draw there chief"

His anger sprouted wings (among other things) and took to the sky. His mouth contorted into a scowl. A scowling scowl with little scowl children feeding on other smaller, weaker scowls. The scowl is not a nice expression, no. It's vicious.

He was fuming to say the least.

Jinx's expression turned to mock concern. "You sure you got 'em all out?"

Raven snickered into the other girls shoulder while robin smoldered in the corner.

Robin changed the subject. "We're done here. Lets go.", he made a mad dash for the T car, which Cyborg had graciously lent him on pain of death if it came back in less than one piece.

Raven lifted her head off the other girl and looked at her with a smile. "You shouldn't taunt him so much; he doesn't like you all that much as it is."

"Hey, he sets himself up, not my fault", she flailed her arms.

The empath grinned, "Well that may be, but… … … something"

"Started well, that sentence"

"Oh shut up." She silenced the other girl with a passionate kiss. Drawing many stared from the surrounding patrons. Seconds later she pulled away with a blush. Realizing where she was. She sheepishly looked around at the gaping people, not sure what to say. Jinx saved the day, as she gave the crowd the finger, and pulled the empath away from the scene, laughing madly all the way.

Titan tower, TV room

Raven was straddling the other girl on the black couch, her head was lying on the other girls chest, which in her opinion, made the most comfortable pillows _ever_. She sighed.

She rubbed her face into the other girls endowments. "How are you so comfortable?", the empath was in a state of bliss.

"…Effort", Jinx stated blankly. She was just as comfortable as the girl on top of her.

**Closing notes**

It _may _have turned into a series of linked one shots… Tell me if you like it, or if you want me to get back to the story, cause I _will _listen. I have a plot in mind, but it's kinda hazy. Anyways, tell me whatcha want, or if it was good even.

In conclusion, I think it may switch back and forth between chapters, and again, sorry bout the length, but I'm so god damn impatient, I want to get some input on this before I continue… or something.

Yeah.

**Chapter 10: Online**

**Monotony**

_This wonderful feeling, somehow makes me nervous. It makes me sad, when I wonder how long, this feeling will last…_

**Chapter 10:**

Raven and jinx were curled up in the pink haired girls bed, as they had been for a while. For "some reason", the empath was unable to get some rest in her _own _room. Pink eyes blinked lazily open.

_Huh…_

She was completely immobilized, the other girl was firmly and securely fastened. The arms around her neck barred upward escape, and the legs entwined with her own prevented sliding out. Still, why would she want to get up?

Raven adjusted her head in her sleep, her hair now out of her face. She slowly opened her eyes and smiled a sleepy smile.

"Morning"

"Morning", the pink haired girl stole a kiss before using the remote to open blinds to the sunroof.

Warm light poured in the room and warmed the girls to the bone. The empath sighed and pulled the other girl closer.

Both their stomachs growled at the same time. They looked at each other.

"that almost sounded like the word food." Jinx said with a chuckle

"…right. Well, we should get up, I quess."

Jinx tried to sit up, but was held by the other girl, she looked down at the grinning empath.

"We should get up, I guess", she copied the other girls' previous comment.

"S'not my fault yer so comfy.", she slurred, still a tad on the drowsy side

"Then I'll walk for the both of us!", she grabbed the other girl and rolled off the bed. Ending on top of the pile, she got to her feet and helped the now wide awake girl up.

"What would I do without you…", she said with a frown.

"Sleep all day probably", she firmly smacked the other girls' bottom, "Go get changed, I'll make us breakfast."

Raven removed her frown and walked over to the door, heading for her room. She did, after all, need a change of clothes.

While padding down the hall she encountered beast boy, who was giving her a very strange look. She eyed him curiously.

"What?"

"Did you just come from Jinx's room?"

"Yeah." She stated

"What were you doing?"

"…Sleeping" she droned

His jaw dropped. "Together!" he shouted while pressing his index fingers together.

"No, I slept on the floor", she slapped him with her sarcasm.

He recovered and violently looked up at the ceiling, "Sweet!, my forum's 'gonna love this!-wait…", he slowly looked back down at the girl standing before him.

_Ok… she looks kind of angry, only one thing left to do_. He turned to run, but froze as he heard the empath reply.

"**what** forum?", the emphasis on 'what' nearly made his heart stop.

"Yeah, what forum?" …not so much on that one.

He reanimated, he recognized that voice and was relieved that there was a witness to his murder. He turned around to face his them and sighed. Raven was _significantly_ less pissed, and the girl wrapped around her looked genuinely interested.

He feared that lying would mean an unholy death, and rather _wisely_ explained the situation.

"I _may _have posted a picture of you two kissing, on a forum I _may _have started a while ago… about who you _might _hook up with"

"I'm going to kill you", the empath calmly stated

"Wait-wait, lemme' explain!", he shouted. "The only reason I posted it was _because _no one would believe me if I didn't have proof-"

"-Wait a sec", jinx interrupted, "Where was _I_ on the list?"

"Last"

"Under who?"

"Robin, Cy, Me, cough star, mammoth, aqualad, and speedy"

"I'm going to kill you", The pink haired girl calmly stated

The green boy fell to his knees. "At least look at the page first!" he turned kitten and mewed at them both. Raven instantly lost her anger, though she would never admit it. Jinx however, squeezed the girl in her grasp tighter.

The pink haired girl remembered something and pointed accusingly at the animal, "You _have _to give me that picture-" She playfully poked the other girl in the ribs, "I think she was smiling!"

She valiantly gestured to the boys room and hauled the other girl towards it, the now human shapeshifter following close behind them.

"OH MY GOD! **How **can you _live _here?" Jinx was in shock of how filthy the boys room was. Sure, she wasn't all that clean either, but this was just… just… eww. She eyed the various articles that littered the floor, and somehow ceiling.

"How in the hell are they up there?" the pink haired girl violently pointed up at the shirt that was managing to remain securely stuck to the tiles above her head.

"I think it's like… stuck to something, anyways, here's the site.", He cautiously stepped his way over to a peculiarly large stack of clothes and heaved them over his head, revealing a small widescreen monitor. The computer was most likely nearby. He turned on the monitor and opened a web page to He beckoned the waiting girls over. They stepped precisely in the boys footprints.

Beast boys Site had been fairly decent, the lad was still alive, and thanking his merciful gods that he still had all his limbs. Jinx and Raven were out on the roof watching the sunset. It had been the titans' idea. The former thief wasn't one for the sentimental, normally. But this was a different story, and she appreciated it, she appreciated the hell out of it. Watching with her seemed like a fantastic way to spend time.

"beautiful." Jinx had the empath sitting between her legs, and was leaning against edge that stuck up on the end opposite to the view. It was fairly gusty, considering it was winter, that was no surprise, the thief pulled the other girl closer, resting her chin on the girl's shoulder.

"And the sunset's not bad either"

"Good lord that was corny." the empath said with a grin

"Must be the cold"

"It's not cold"

'Yeah, says _you_! I'm freezin' my ass of here."

Raven flipped over and wrapped her arms around the other girls' neck, gently pulling her to the pavement beneath them. She nuzzled her cheek into the girls' chest.

"…Better?", she whispered

she sighed.

Raven snuggled closer into the girl and turned her head. She listened to the girls' steady heartbeat. The sound was so relaxing, that consistent _th- thump… th -thump_.

"Jinx?" she quietly said

"Mnn?" she grunted in response

"I'm really… happy… that I found you." She murmured, barely audible, though the thief heard every word.

"Ditto", jinx said with a content smile on her lips.

Next day: breakfast

Raven and Jinx had once again gotten up absurdly early. Both were patiently waiting to be served pancakes from the mechanical man, who was currently donning a pink frilled apron, and prancing around the kitchen. obviously johnseing for a laugh, but the girls were fresh out, after all, they had just discovered that beast boy wore rather _odd _pj's.

"Food's up y'all." He shouted, while hurling a plate full of pancakes at the table like a meteorite. The plate was suddenly surrounded in darkness, then slowly fell in front of the girls.

"Thanks Cy!", jinx hollered at the apron.

The pink haired girl was just about to fork the topmost pancake, which _everyone_ knew was the best, however, mid-stab robin morphed into the room.

Raven elbowed the other girl, who promptly turned around and gave the boy a proper greeting.

"Morning." She said in her normal indoor voice.

"Mo-" he started in his usual _just-die _tone, but halted mid word at the look he received from raven, he heard a voice in his head. _Be nice now. _It was technically a request, but to him, was a demand. He knew better than to piss of the empath that was currently giving him the stink eye, and returned the thief's gesture.

"Morning." It sounded almost… normal, similar to how he would greet the green boy or the tamaranian… almost.

He heard the voice again. _…good enough._ He sighed inwardly and budged over to his usual seat at the table. Which happened to be across from his current least favorite person.

The awkward eating commenced. The boy wonder was first to excuse himself. Right when he got up Cyborg sat down, in _his _seat. He eyed the teen for a second before stalking away.

"ROBIN!", jinx bellowed.

He stopped and turned on his heels. "What?", from the tone of her voice, he was positive it was serious, and he was _far_ to anal to allow a problem in "His" tower.

The pink haired girl pointed to her chin, "You got some syrup on 'ya"

He frowned. "Oh", he glanced at the empath, "… uhhm, thanks." He brushed his face and sure enough, it was sticky. Very sticky. He noted this, and walked away. His irrational hatred for the girl _slightly_ diminished.

Jinx quickly looked at the titan next to her, soon as robin left the room, an expectant smile on her face. "How'd I do?"

"Good enough… well. Deal's a deal, what are we doing?", the titan had promised that if jinx made a _better _impression with robin, she would do… _something_, with her.

Jinx smiled a Cheshire cat grin, she pumped her not syrupy arm in the air, "Movie!"

The girls stood in front of the Go cinema. Jinx was pleased that she had _finally _gotten the titan to agree on seeing the movie she desperately wanted to see. _The Princess Bride_.

They were both dressed by the former thief, part of her deal. Raven was irritated at her wardrobe. The empath looked down at her clothes. Black shoes, blue jeans, and an _uncomfortably _tight white long sleeve shirt. She thanked her various gods that she was wearing an undershirt. She looked over at the pink haired girl with a smirk. She donned pink boots, pink miniskirt, and guess what, a pink shirt. Her hair was down, as it had been for a long time.

"What are you wearing that _isn't _pink?", raven muttered to the other girl, the last thing she wanted was everyone focused on _them_, and what better way to do that than to wear all pink.

The thief didn't respond, raven continued to look at the girl, who was intently staring at her chest.

"Jinx?"

"How'd you get so big?"

Raven squinted, "Effort. Well, lets go." The empath walked off to the door to get their tickets, the other girl tailing behind her.

The movie had gone well, raven had actually enjoyed it, though she would never admit to liking something so childish. Jinx couldn't stop fidgeting from the horrible seating, so was "forced" to sit in the other girls lap… her very _comfortable _lap.

"Hey rai?", jinx said from her place on the couch.

"mm?"

"Thanks."

**Chapter 11: Nevermore**

**Monotony**

"_The world is beautiful, even if it is filled with tears and sorrow."_

**Chapter 11:**

The girls were curled up in the empaths' bed. They had spent every night in jinx's, and raven was coming to miss her room. A content smile formed on the psions' lips as she felt warm _somethings_ press onto her back. Every day had been heaven for the normally downtrodden girl. Who knew love could change someone so dramatically?... _everyone probably_. She felt a moan crawl up her throat as a hand trailed up her tone stomach and gently cup her breast.

Then the lovers were gone. Both of them.

Nevermore

Two girl suddenly appeared, on the cold, hard, rocky ground.

Jinx froze, the bed had suddenly turned… well… painful. She turned her head to look at the ground, and was met with rock. Solid rock. She released the other girls _something _from her hold and leaned forward to whisper in her ear.

"Uhhhm… my bad?"

Raven sighed and blandly looked around, she knew where they were, just… not how they got there. This _was_ an unusual occurrence… very unusual, considering it had _never _happened before. But, a lot of things were unusual around the empath.

"Probably", she said dryly.

"You know where we are?"

"You don't remember?", she recalled when the 'Hive Five', technically three, had taken over the tower for a time. The pink haired girl had unfortunately… "Stumbled" into raven's mirror.

"… wait." She remembered the scenery, the rocky ground, the lightless sky, the unnatural wildlife. This dreary place was all to familiar. "We're in your head! How the hell did we get… here?"

Raven sighed, the obvious way to find out was _exactly _what she didn't want to do. Her emotions were a bit on the… blunt, side. Conversation wise. And she didn't want to startle the other girl with some strange dialogue. But, she was curious, and dear _god_! It was _her _mind after all. "Lets ask around."

Jinx gazed at the four-eyed birds. "Raven… birds can't talk."

The empath sighed. _It's going to be a long day…_ "No… not the birds, the _people_."

"Raven… there's… no one here."

"You really don't remember, do you?" curiosity lined her words

"A little bit."

"…Elaborate"

"We're in your head"

"…Go on"

"…That's it."

"Right… well, let's find them, should make for an interesting and perhaps painful experience"

Jinx took the hint, she released the other girl and got up, then helped the grounded girl to her feet. She spun in a circle, hoping to find intelligent life before the other girl.

_Huh…_

She was confused. Glowing pink eyes rapidly looked around, and widened. Every direction was the same, the same path, the same bleak sky, the same indignant birds madly cawing at her, the same brilliant red eyes that seemed to see right through her. She felt a chill crawl up her spine, and quickly grabbed the other girl and firmly shut her eyes.

"Jinx."

No response

"Jinx!", the pink haired girl cautiously opened her eyes. She was met with a familiar face. She blushed.

"I-uh"

"You ok?"

"I just…", she looked off to the side, and flinched when the scenery turned with her. "…It freaked me out… a little"

Raven reached out and turned the other girls head. She passionately kissed the other girl, who physically relaxed in her arms. After what seemed an eternity, she slowly pulled away.

"Better?"

Jinx dreamily smiled, her primal fear forgotten. "Yeah."

"Good, let's go."

She took the other girls hand and started down the stony road. She looked over and smiled at the other girl, who returned her gaze.

"Hey rai?"

"Hmm?"

"How does it work.. this." She gestured to the path in front of her.

"Curious?" she voiced

"Who wouldn't be?, this is like… impossible."

"What is?"

"this." She pointed at the ground beneath her feet.

Raven grinned, "We're in my head, and _that_ is impossible?"

"…Damn. One point for you… you gonna tell me?"

"I suppose I have to now." She stared at the path in front of her, her destination seemed just as far as when she started.

"Try and stay with me, it's sort of… complicated."

"I'm all ears." The girl was in no hurry, looking at the path in front of her, she figured it would be a while, justified reason to be patient. She didn't want to badger her lover either.

"I'll start with this" she once again pointed at the ground. "There's one path because there is only _one _possible decision."

Jinx vacantly stared at the other girl. "…uhhm… explanation?"

"It's hard to explain"

"Please?" jinx pouted.

"… I'll try…" she cleared her throat. "This place is home to my emotions"

jinx nodded when met with a pause.

"My emotions are the purest form of any part of me, for example, bravery represents everything about me that is brave, courageous, strong, etcetera."

She nodded vigorously

"Emotions are the only viable cause for decision, if choices were based solely on rational, there would ultimately be only one choice to make. Being that choices will then be based on the greater and more beneficial outcome, as well as there being be no reason _not_ to make that choice without interference of irrational thought, _emotions_."

A slow nod.

"They represent _everything_ irrational about me, so when I visit here, I represent rational thought. My unconscious mind is… rather intelligent. It found no reason to make many paths when I would obviously take the best, which would consistently be the best and therefore, only _possible_ path I would take. Understand?"

"…enough."

Raven flashed a smile at the _less _confused girl and looked ahead. They were there.

"We're here"

Jinx gaped. _When _had they gotten there? It was so far away just a moment ago.

"How did…"

"Long story."

"… never mind… I don't want to know"

Raven tugged the other girls hand and started towards a cloaked figure who was sprawled out on the ground in the traditional 'jumping jack' position.

Happy

Raven deadpanned at the pink cape. "Happy" she distastefully uttered. Thankfully, the girl in question was still unaware of her presence. She could still sneak away and-

"Hi!", jinx shouted at an unnecessary volume

The figure rapidly got to her feet and turned to face the girl.

Jinx gaped. She looked _exactly_ like raven. Save the pink cape and brilliant smile.

"Oh my god!" she screeched, "You!" she pointed at jinx before tackling her in a violent embrace. "Hi!" she bellowed.

"Inside voice, happy." Raven commented as she observed the scene

"But we're outside!" she pouted

"No we're not."

"Pi-shaw.", she waved her hand nonchalantly and turned her attention back to the girl she was wrapped around.

"Hi Jinxy!"

"Raven, help me!" the pink haired girl yelled at the blue raven.

"You brought this upon yourself."

"Please!" her bottom lip quivered.

She sighed. "Fine" she spread her arms "Here… happy." The pink girl gasped, she released the thief and wrapped her arms around the blue ravens neck.

"Mnnnnn." She bubbled. Her host had never willingly allowed her to hug.

Raven grabbed the other girls shoulders and gently pushed her away.

"Happy."

"Hmm?" she even hummed loudly.

"Do you know _how _we got here?"

She violently shook her head, always in possession of excess energy.

"Do you know who does?"

"Yeah!" she glowed.

"who?"

"Smarty!"

…_knowledge _"Thanks." She flashed the girl a quick smile, picked up the still grounded girl, and started off in search of a yellow cloak.

"Bye happy!" jinx shouted over her shoulder

"BYE!"

Knowledge

"Knowledge"

no response

"Knowledge?" slightly irritated.

…

"Damnit knowledge, pay attention!"

…

"KNOWLEDGE!" jinx hollered. She gave the empath a thumbs up as the yellow raven looked up from her book.

"Why are we here?" raven questioned.

She wore a flat expression. "You walked."

Ravens eye twitched. Knowledge had always been irritating. She tended to jump around a question until it became incredibly specific. "How are we _here_, in my head?"

"Assuming you haven't lost it, you used the mirror."

Raven fumed. The girl was so _frustrating. _Her anger dissipated as she felt lips press against hers. The pink haired girl pulled away smiling. "Lemme' try?"

Raven beckoned towards the cloaked figure.

Jinx grinned and stepped towards the girl, who was sitting on a rather large rock. She opened her mouth to say something, but instead, darted forward and snatched the book from the girl.

She jumped back.

"How did we get here?" she ominously eyed the ledge to her left, the book in an extended hand, barely over the cliff.

"Why would I tell you that?" she droned. Completely uninterested.

"Because I have your book!" she pulled her hand back to wave the tome around, but was surprised as it was empty. She glanced over at knowledge.

The cloaked figure once again held the book. She leered at the girl. Waving the tome around mockingly. "Curious?"

"Yes damnit!"

The figure chuckled. She set the book in her lap and opened it, resuming where she had left off.

"Ask lust." She said over the page, maintaining a tone of apathy.

Raven grimaced. _She_ was the last person she wanted jinx to meet.

"Thanks for your help." She muttered. The empath grabbed the still frustrated girl and started towards a massive structure in the distance.

The great divide

"She is so _frustrating_-oh my god!" jinx shouted as the stone structure in the distance was suddenly directly in front of her. She jerked her head upwards, the wall seemed to be infinitely tall, looming over her. She looked back over at raven.

Raven returned the glance. "Lets go."

She walked towards the immense partition but stopped when she felt the other girl stop. She turned her head to look back at her. "What?"

"How do we get in? There's no door." She was hesitant to walk into a solid stone wall.

"Do you trust me?" raven asked, completely serious.

"Yes" she answered quickly, her tone making it glaringly obvious that she was telling the truth.

"Close your eyes." Raven said softly

Jinx shut them. She felt an arm wrap around her waist. She was gently pulled forwards. She felt a chill, as she walked what seemed like mist, dense, freezing. It only lasted a moment.

"Ok."

She opened her eyes. There was an opening before her. She looked back over her shoulder. The wall was now behind her. She eyed it curiously before returning her gaze ahead of her.

"…Thanks"

Raven grinned before once again pulling the girl forwards into the labyrinth.

The labyrinth

"Holy!" jinx shouted as she stumbled over something. She was caught by the other girl, quite easily, as they were already holding each other.

Jinx relaxed after a moment and looked back at the other girl.

"My bad-" she stopped as she noticed raven was looking back behind her. She followed suit. She now saw a grey cloaked figure face down, flat on the ground.

_Must have been what I tripped on… wait… she wasn't there before… was she?_

_Ohmygod! __**I **__tripped __**her**_

"Hey! Are you alright?" she urgently asked the quite literally downtrodden girl.

The figure pushed herself up and looked at the ground.

"I…uh…" she whispered, while avoiding eye contact.

"Timid?" raven said.

The girl looked over at raven, she relaxed when she saw the blue cape, but quickly looked away when she noticed her host wasn't alone.

Raven raised a brow at the girl reaction and looked over to her right. _Oh…_"She's with me." raven said reassuringly.

The girl sighed from the ground, raising a small cloud of dust. "I…yeah… I'm fine." The girl said lowly.

Jinx walked over and offered the girl a hand, timid flinched. The cloaked girl slowly opened her eyes and looked up.

"C'mon. I'll help you up. It's the least I can do." Jinx said with a smile.

The grey cloaked girl cautiously extended an arm, and lightly touched the other girls hand. She was gently pulled to her feet.

"Sorry bout that. You ok?"

Timids' eyes widened as she got a closer view of the girl. "You." She said in a normal voice, which for her was a shout. She smiled and hugged the pink haired girl.

"…I'm fine", she whispered into the girls ear.

"Good." Jinx said in hushed tones.

"Well I hate to break up the moment, but we need to go." Raven said. She had a valid point, they were essentially stuck until they figured out how they got there.

Timid 'eeped' and pulled away from the girl. "Sorry", she muttered and darted off into the nearest wall. Phasing directly through it.

Jinx, who had witnessed the event, looked back over at raven.

"Can you do that?"

"Not in here. Only she can."

"Why?" jinx was curious.

"Protection… From _them_."

"Who?"

"You'll find out soon enough." She said ominously and walked off down the stone path.

"I- what- hey! Wait for me!" jinx dashed after the girl.

Lust

The girl had just reached the end of the maze. Much to the former thief's relief, being in such an enclosed space had started to get to her. Her 'this is creepy 'o meter' had gone off numerous times.

"I'm reeealy glad we're out of there-ahh!" she shouted as she felt arms wrap around her waist. Arms that did_ not_ belong to raven, seeing as she was currently holding her hand.

Raven look over as she heard the girls scream. She grimaced when she saw with a figure in a brilliant red cloak hugging _her _girl.

"No touching Lust." She said dryly

The girl smiled slyly, "Now she's a forbidden fruit, I _must _have her!" She spun the girl around, and leaned in for a kiss. However, she stopped as she felt a finger press on her lips.

"No touchie." Jinx said, reminisce of raven's previous comment.

Lust blinked before pulling away. "Well, why are you here?" she drawled

"That's what I want to know." Raven said

The red cloaked girl grinned. "You know why, we both do."

"…No"

"oh reeealy? Well. I guess I'll have to show you." She flipped the thief around once again and grabbed her hands.

"Close your eyes"

Jinx gave raven a questioning glance, after receiving a 'do it' look, she complied.

Lust extended the girls hands and walked forward. Eventually coming into contact with very _sensitive _parts of the empaths' anatomy.

Then they vanished once again.

Raven's bed

Jinx stared a wide eyed stare at the girl next to her. "Your boobs are magic!"

"Only for you."

**Chapter 12: Breakfast**

**Monotony**

**Chapter 12:**

"Ok… so if I… like… fondle you, we get sucked into your mind?"

Raven blushed. "Pretty much."

"…Why?"

The empath looked down. "Because… I'm… you know… "

"Horny?" jinx said with a grin.

Ravens' flush intensified. "It sounds dirty when you say it like that."

"… It is dirty… isn't it?"

Raven sighed. "Yeah."

Jinxs' grin took on another dimension when she had a brilliant and indecent idea. "So… there are other you's in your head… right?"

Raven frowned. "Yeah, where are you going with this?"

"We should _totally_ have an o-"

"-No." the psion interrupted.

"Not even if I-"

"-Nope."

"But it'd be awesome! we could-"

"-Not happening."

"Please?" more of a question than a request.

"No."

"But you don't even know what I'm talking about!"

"Yes I do."

Jinx conceded. "…Fine… then could _we_-"

"Yeah."

"Sa-weet" she pumped her arm in the air before tackling the other girl to the bed.

Breakfast

Jinx and raven padded down the hall, both wearing turtlenecks and blushing furiously. Mostly raven. They turned the corner and instantly, had four pairs of eyes locked on them. They had after all, made quite a racket. The green lad was the first to break the silence.

"What were _you_ doing?" he frantically pointed at them, quickly alternating between the pink haired girl and the titan.

The pink haired girl leered at him. "Something you will never do." She said matter-o-factly.

Robin and Cyborg got the implication and resumed devouring pancakes like they'd get up and run.

Starfire and the green lad however, were confused. Beast boy, was too young. The tamaranian was from another planet, understandable.

Raven sighed. "Having sex." She said as though they were both her mother.

Starfire threatened to rip her face apart with her smile, the shapeshifter however, shrugged and went back to his cereal.

The alien flew out of her seat and crushed the lovers in a vice-like hug. "Fantastic!" she bellowed into their ears. "I wish you much happiness!" Her speech done, she floated back to her seat to resume her death-eating-match with the two boys.

Jinx turned her head and grinned at the other girl, before getting in a morning kiss. She whispered into her ear. "I love you"

Raven whispered into the girls ear, "I love you too"

Title: **Waking Up Is The Hardest Part**  
>Category: Cartoons » Teen Titans<br>Author: JellyfishBlues  
>Language: English, Rating: Rated: M<br>Genre: Romance/Hurt/Comfort  
>Published: 01-22-08, Updated: 02-24-08<br>Chapters: 13, Words: 67,161

**Chapter 1: Dream**

**Wake**

**Chapter 1:**

She thrashed violently at the heavy shackles that bound her limbs. The water around her chilled her to the bone, she struggled and struggled as her life slowly bubbled to the surface. She pulled at the chains on her arms, praying they would snap, praying dear _god_ that they would be torn apart from her attempts to break loose. She opened her eyes and through the burning pain she looked at her cuffs, thick, solid, unforgiving. She couldn't break them, she had no hope to. She exhaled her last breath and went still, watching the air float away. Watching her life float away, and leave her chained and bound, suffocated, trapped… forever.

A girl rapidly sat up, her blue hair plastered to her face, beads of sweat trailing down her temple down to drop from her chin. She breathed in rapid short breaths, looking around her room, making sure she was awake, that it was a dream-_just _a dream. She clutched the sheets that clung to her slick body, affirming she was alive. She focused on the comforter as her eyes clouded, as tears rolled down her cheeks.

"…Just a dream." She muttered to herself. That nightmare had been a regular event for the violet eyed girl. But even after she'd had it every day, it still had the same effect. It left her quaking. She was annoyed, something like that shouldn't happen to her of all people. She was in _control _of her emotions, she had to be.

The girl looked around the dimly lit room once again, checking in detail. She spotted a mask on her floor. She recognized it, it hung on her wall, a Victorian mask, not particularly rare or expensive, but a keepsake nonetheless. She sighed as she blinked away the tears, the mask was broken, demolished. It had shattered instantly, as though it was crushed by immense weight. The many pieces still organized, meshing like a puzzle, flat on the ground.

She willed the tears to stop, the pain to stop. She fell back down onto her bed and relaxed herself. The tears stopped, her breathing slowed. She stared up at the ceiling. The girl had no hope of getting back to sleep, even if she did, it would just end the same way. She squinted at her window, the blinds were drawn, but she could see light fighting to pour though the fabric. A dull purple hue colored her room. She blinked slowly, taking in the situation.

_Get up_

She told herself to get up, she ordered her feet to move. Her limbs however weren't on the same page. She groaned and flung her legs over the side of her bed, planted them firmly on the floor. She pushed herself up with her arms and took a deep breath.

"Another day." She murmured

She began her morning routine, still in a weakened state, she stumbled to her bathroom for a shower. She needed to relax, and what better way than to be pounded by jets of scalding water.

She peeled off her clothes and carelessly tossed them to the floor by the door. She padded over to the shower, slid open the glass door, and turned the 'H' nob on. It sprang to life, immediately it steamed, she attempted a grin but was physically drained from her dream. She grabbed the door for support and stepped into the mist. She winced as the water hit her skin, but soon relaxed as she adjusted to the temperature. She hung her head and watched her hair lazily fall forward in strands, trailing the small streams of water that fell to the tiled floor.

She sighed and leaned her head back into the water, slicking her hair back out of her face with her hands. The flat expression on her face reflected her thoughts, she was tired, but couldn't alleviate it. Her own personal hell. She had always loved to sleep, to dream. Where nothing mattered, where anything could happen, all you had to do… was wish it. It seemed the world was conspiring against her, taking away everything she held dear. Her parents, her emotions, now her dreams.

She grimaced and chalked her pessimistic thoughts up to her nightmare. She shut the water, cautiously stepped out and toweled off.

Dry, she donned her trademark black leotard and blue cloak, she draped the hood over her still damp hair and started out to the kitchen. Hoping that some food would clear her mind. She approached the end of the hall and slightly smiled. It seemed that beast boy and Cyborg were having their morning argument on what was for breakfast.

She turned the corner as the fight grew heated.

"Damnit Cy! I'm a vegetarian!, I don't eat FLESH!"

"Well _I'm_ a MEAT-O-tarian, and I DO eat FLESH! So if you don't wanna' be the en-tray, shut yo' mouth!"

She smirked under her hood at the boys, arguing over something so miniscule, that could be easily solved. However, she wasn't about to step in, so she took her usual seat at the table and patiently waited for some nourishment.

"What the hell are you making meat for anyways! It's fucking BREAKFAST!" the green lad shouted.

"Meat is nutritious AND delicious, and should be eaten with EVERY meal! It makes you BIG _and_ STRONG! So YOU need more meat than any of us!"

"GODDAMNIT CY! Just make me a salad or something!"

The hulking teen grinned at his victory. _Victory for Victor_ he thought with a middle eastern accent. He held out his giant hand. "DEAL!" he bellowed at the shapeshifter.

"THANKYOU!" he hollered in return.

Raven started in with the cliché slow clap at their performance, leave it to them and their antics to cheer her up in the morning. She slightly smiled under her hood.

"Fan-tastic, just fantasic." She drawled

Both boys looked in her general direction. Just then becoming aware of her presence.

"Hey raven." Both Cyborg and Beast boy gave their usual morning greeting, at an acceptable volume. The green boy took his seat at the table, and victor started whipping up the boy a salad to accompany his giant steak.

"Robin up yet?" raven questioned, her tone making it apparent that she didn't care either way.

"No." he playfully elbowed the girl next to him "star's not either." He grinned and made several gestures before returning to harassing the chef.

Raven grinned. They were all aware of robin and the tamaranians relationship. Though they pretended to be ignorant, just to hassle them. The occasional innuendo, harmless comment, Just wind em' up and watch em go!

She smirked as the 'lovers' walked into the room, they _were _holding hands, but immediately stopped like they'd contract the plague… mostly robin. Starfire was more comfortable with getting their relationship out in the open. The tamaranian looked over at the boy wonder, she gave him a knowing look and started off ahead of him, flying to her usual seat at the table, next to the shapeshifter.

The masked boy morphed to his spot, much like an amoeba on the hunt, just waiting for something he could trap in his jelly and slowly consume. Hell, he even ate like an amoeba. Breakfast was a fight at the tower, so eating like a savage was normal among the titans. The only one to retain some decency was the empath.

Raven observed the lovers devour pancakes, the green boy scarf down his salad, and the hulking teen take chunks from his steak like a pack of starved piranhas. She looked back down at her own plate.

_Empty…_

She looked over at the plate with the pancakes. Only one remained, and she noticed her competitors eyeing it. She leered at them. A puddle of shadows formed beneath the pancake and it slowly sunk in like a whirlpool. Starfire and Robin make a mad jump to grasp it, but both came away with smidgens.

Enough to taunt a mouse, give it a crumb, and snort the remains when it asks for more.

The ceiling rippled as a pancake dripped from it and landed flat on the empath's plate. She stared at it and frowned. She _was _hungry, and it _did _look good, but no more. She picked it up and tossed it back onto the plate. Partly because her appetite was gone, and partly because she wanted to see how they'd act. Split it? Fight over it? She bet on the former.

She was proven right as robin took it and offered the alien half. She beamed and nodded vigorously.

"You two would make a cute couple." She offered up from under her hood. She grinned as the masked boy inhaled his half and stuttered out an incompetent response, and starfire firmly agreed.

Now that the empaths' mood was secure, _flatline_, she stood and excused herself from the table.

"But you did not eat." Starfire said, concerned.

"I'm not hungry." Raven responded and started off to her room. She froze as her communicator buzzed like mad. She turned to face the other titans, a frown scowling on her lips. Robin had his com. Unit out and was intently looking at the screen.

"The H.I.V.E five are robbing a bank. Titans, go!" he shouted.

The others stared at him blankly.

"That seemed unnecessary."

A lightpost soared through the air towards a girl with brilliant pink hair. She flipped to the side and sneered at it as it passed. The girl cart-wheeled to the dark titan, effortlessly avoiding various things; cars, rocks, car sized rocks.

"Why don't you settle down! Get a boyfriend or something!" raven shouted as she hurled a minivan at the hex caster. The pink haired girl vaulted over it and dashed towards the titan, all the while tossing pink bolts all around her.

"I don't even LIKE boys!" the thief yelled back, partly for rebuttals sake, but mostly because it was the truth.

Now in close quarters, the villain threw a punch at the other girl, only to hit a black wall. She pulled her hand back and shook it out, it thwarted like hell. She hissed and dropped to the ground, aiming a spin kick at the girls feet. She groaned as she completed her spin and came into contact with _nothing_. She looked up. The titan was hovering above her. Mouthing something. She tensed as the ground beneath her softened and pulled her feet in. Crackling as she was sucked waist deep into the pavement. The thrashed around, trying to free herself, but stopped as the ground around her hardened.

She was stuck waist deep in solid rock. Something that sheer bad luck couldn't get her out of.

Her eyes widened and she looked over her shoulder, hoping to find her comrades were winning, and could come to her rescue.

"Mammoth!" she shouted. The girl flinched as her potential savior was blasted through a wall by an explosive green energy.

"Gizm-" she stopped mid sentence as she noticed the kid genius being held in the air by one of the titans. His backpack had been removed and crushed, and was currently sparking on the ground.

She frowned as she realized her current situation. They were losing, she was caught. She glanced back in front of her. The empath was once again on terra firma. And was giving her a curious look.

"What?" she growled.

"Don't like boys huh?" she mused

Jinx scowled. "Got a problem with that?" her tone could have cut her free

"No, not at all." She raised her hand and studied her nails.

The sunken thief squinted. "Huh, so you're… gay?"

The empath directed her attention back to the other girl. "Why am I even talking to you?" she snapped.

The pink haired girl leered. "You are, aren't you."

Raven scowled. "Think what you want. You're going to jail anyways." She turned around and checked up on her team. Gizmo was apprehended, and mammoth was unconscious if not dead. Starfire _may_ have overreacted when he got a hit in on the boy wonder.

"Have fun now." She droned and started off to meet her fellow titans.

"Well?" she asked the leader.

"The authorities will be here shortly, we're done here."

Raven nodded. Her shadow spread and darkened circling her and rippling in the slight breeze. She leaned back and fell to the ground, plummeting right through it. The ground lightened, and the darkness receded into the center, finally being sucked into itself like a dying star. She was to exhausted to bother flying _or_ walking back to the tower, teleporting was easier in the long run.

The other titans gaped at her dramatic exit. Beast boy silently cursed to himself that _he _couldn't be that cool, while Cyborg had recorded the whole event on his mechanical eye, and confirmed that it was saved on his internal memory. It would make one wicked awesome screen saver. The lovebirds had brushed it off and started back to the tower.

A crater in the ground smoldered as its sides slowly caved in. It was big enough to fit about half a person.

"Thanks Mammoth." a pink haired girl thanked the enormous teen next to her.

"Thought I was stuck for a second"

"No problem" he brushed it off.

"Stinkin' titans got the money!" a small boy grunted, obviously annoyed at his failure.

"Good thing there's more than one bank."

Raven sat on a black couch, dully observing a giant flatscreen TV as a commercial for played for the second time. She didn't know who that old man was, what he ate for breakfast, or where he lived. All she knew was that she wanted him dead.

_Yeah. I'm gay._

She was still thinking of her earlier confrontation. She kept playing that response over and over in her mind. Why hadn't she said it? It was the truth, it was a response. It met the basic requirements of anything that the empath said. So why hadn't she?

_It's not like we'd've had sex, it was just a response._

She frowned at the television as that _damned_ commercial played for the third time. A wisp of black smoke appeared in front of the screen and spread out, covering it. It wrapped around the back and the man's voice went silent.

The darkness vanished as she heard the door to the kitchen slam open. She wasn't about to shatter the television in front of them.

"nn." She grunted an acknowledgement

"mmn" she received one

She felt the couch shake as a person landed next to her. "What's on?"

"Nothing." She tossed the remote to the teen next to her.

He flipped threw the channels and laughed when he came to comedy central.

"That Dane Cook's a silly bitch." He said between fits of laughter.

"…Fascinating." She said dryly

"Dude! Have you seen him! He's hilarious!"

"I'm sure." She said before floating back to her room. She didn't feel like talking to anyone. So she phased through the walls and appeared back in her room. Dimly lit as usual, however, there was a sole ray of light shining through a space in her shades. She glided over to her bed and plopped down on her sheets. She sat up and opened the blinds before flopping back on the bed. She sighed as the sunlight hit her exposed legs.

_Maybe… I could get some rest._

She closed her eyes and writhed around, getting into a comfortable position.

She saw two figures walk away into the distance. The girl yelled, screamed at them. Telling them, begging them to come back. Her voice went silent as she realized they couldn't hear her, and even if they could, they wouldn't listen. She madly dashed after them. Through the pain she pumped her legs again and again, running after the figures. No matter how fast she ran, she never got any closer. And they only got farther away. She slowed to a stop and collapsed on the ground. Bending over, she blinked away tears that fell to the ground. She felt the rocks dig into her knees, she felt the warm blood pool around her. Oozing from every pore of her body. White hot pain coursed through her… but it didn't matter. Not anymore.

…_no…_

Raven's eyes shot open. She inhaled in a shallow gasp and blinked away tears that clouded her vision. She felt the wetness of her pillow. She'd had a dream, all to vivid. But it was different, this was… personal. It was something she didn't want to remember. She firmly shut her eyes and tried to forget. Tried to forget that terrible dream that reminded her so much of what she'd strived to put behind her.

She turned on her side and buried her face in her hands. She slowly opened her eyes. A tear ran down her face as she saw several pale marks on her wrist. She sobbed as she remembered her pain. Remembered the blood, trickling down off her fingertips. She willed her pain away, with a forceful exhale she slowed her breathing, but the torrent of tears would not cease. She tugged her sheets around her and huddled into a fetal position. Twisting her comforter around her, hoping to vanquish the chills that ran up and down her spine.

She tried to stop crying, tried to make that _damn _crying stop! She muttered in-between gasps, "azara-" a sharp intake of breath. "az…ara..th… m..met..ri..rion zynthos"

_Why would I remember these things…these horrible things… what possible reason do I have to remember them when all they bring is pain_

Raven curled up tighter as her crying ceased. She slowed her breathing and relaxed her tense muscles. Her body warmed up quickly, but she didn't feel warm. She still felt… cold. In every sense of the word she was cold… she desired warmth. She stuck her head out of her cocoon and gauged what she should do. Shower? Bath?

_Bath_

Raven wanted-_needed_ a bath, and crawled out of her clothes before being covered in darkness going airborne, lazily floating into the bathroom. The mist settled in the tub, and pulled away, leaving raven lying in the tub. The shadows reached out and turned the hot water on. The nozzle blasted into life in many short bursts before it leveled out to a solid stream. Raven sighed. The water felt wonderful. Washing over her feet, warming her to the bone. She felt light headed and leaned back onto a waterproof pillow. She grinned as best she could after her nightmare. She felt weightless, free, gently bobbing in the steaming water. She dragged her hands forward and set them at her sides. The water level was now at the max so automatically shut off. The empath floated at the surface. Have above, half below.

The silence, the warmth, could always make her happy.

She lazily drifted in the tup. Her head and breasts the only things above water, she floated, enjoying the warmth, and the cold. The contrast. She liked to be warm then cold, or cold then warm, because it would feel better. That contrast between the two.

She leaned her head back underwater and slicked her hair back with her hands. She resurfaced. Floating, gently bobbing in the water, her hair streamed behind her. A smile graced her lips. She blushed as she trailed her hand up her leg. Over her tone stomach. And cup her breast, gently kneading it. She felt good. She _needed_ to after _that_. Pleasure makes a good mask for sorrow, and she needed a distraction, a big one.

She moaned as she parted her lips, tenderly stroking them. …_Jinx_

She felt better. Hell, she felt fantastic. She removed both her hands from their posts with a quiet gasp.

Her tears were gone. She took slow deep breaths, she had forgotten it. She had forgotten that horrible dream. The empath had a thought.

_Did I just… pleasure myself, to jinx?_

_Yes, and it felt wonderful. _She heard a voice, low, seductive, obviously feminine.

That same voice returned. _If this was just a dream, imagine what it would feel like if it were, say… real. Hmm?_

The empath frowned, _it doesn't matter what it'd feel like, it can never happen._

_Oh, but it can, and it will. All you need to do, is ask._

Raven squinted at her emotion. What did she mean by that? Whatever the implication, she couldn't risk allowing her emotions to cloud her judgment Even if she wanted to. _No, lust._

The voice chuckled. _Then I'll leave, for now._

Her mind once again went silent. The blue haired girl sighed and settled back into the water.

She tried to relax once again. She dropped her arms back down at her sides and took a deep breath. She couldn't keep her eyes closed and gave a frustrated groan.

_Time to get out._

She got to her feet, water raining off her. She brushed herself off and stepped out of the tub. She leaned back down and opened the stopper. The water gurgled as it whirl-pooled down the drain. She stepped away, onto a mat and toweled off. She tossed the damn towel into a basket in the corner and stepped out of the bathroom, into her room. It was surprisingly cold, considering the towers heating system and general temperature outside. It was _sunny _for gods' sake. She shivered and sauntered to her closet to get some clothes, some nice, warm, clothes.

The door slid open and she frowned. She had many duplicates of her usual uniform. A black, skintight, and revealing leotard. However, that was all she had. She pushed her hanging uniforms aside and browsed through her selection.

_Damnit._

"I have no clothes." She muttered to herself. She sighed and slid one of the hanging uniforms on. She was still shivering and quickly grabbed her cloak, wrapping it around her tightly. She was still cold. She looked over at the heating vent at the foot of her bed, and had an idea. She raised a hand at the thermostat next to her door, and it turned the heater on. She walked over to her bed and slid the sheets off the end, covering the vent. The empath climbed into her massive bed and sighed as the heated air filled it, washing over her. She grinned and thought to herself. _Problem solved. _

_One of them at least. _She heard that voice again.

_Back so soon? _She thought dryly

_I'm lust, not patience._

_It's been five minutes_

_In your world, yes, not in your mind._

Raven exhaled slowly. _What do you want?_

_We both know what I want. And we both know that you want it too._

_And what would that be? _The empath asked in a flat tone

_Playing dumb never got anyone anywhere_

_Seems to be helping me._

_My my, someone's cranky. Well, I'll be back when you're ready to… talk._

Raven frowned and settled back into the warmth, hoping to stay awake, praying that she stayed awake. She didn't want to have a dream, not like _those_, and it seemed those were all she had anymore. She fought to keep her eyes open. Her lids slowly closed and she was pulled into unconsciousness.

She looked down at the table in front of her, absently tracing the grains in the wood. The girl looked up, glancing around the room. There were others, children. Staring at her through slits. Glaring at her, like she was a monster, like she was inhuman. She quickly looked back down at the table. But, she could still feel their stares, she could feel their chilling stares, penetrating to the bone. She summoned up courage and looked back up at the others, her violet eyes glossy. She met their gaze. She asked then why they were looking at her, why everyone was looking at her so intently. She pleaded, begged them to stop, to turn away. She was pushed over, shoved sideways off her chair onto the cold, unforgiving ground, and then they were on her.

Violet eyes shot open. She felt her heart relentlessly pound in her chest. She felt the tears trail off her face. She took several deep breaths and firmly shut her eyes. Removing her memories of that dream. That dream that reminded her so much of what she desperately wished to forget. She looked down at herself, her tears slowing. She was awake. _It was a dream, just a dream_. She told herself.

She sniffled and threw the sheets off of her. Getting to her feet and pulling her cloak on, draping the hood far over her face, so all that was visible were her pale lips. She rubbed her face in her palms, smearing the tears off her cheeks. The empath took a deep breath and headed for the kitchen, hoping there was something to cheer her up. She softly padded down the hall, she could hear the television blaring, someone had turned the volume all the way up. Most likely to drown out the punk music that was reverberating throughout the halls. She felt the floor vibrating as she rounded the corner, now in the center of the explosive sound. She glared at the sources of the racket, all the while praying that her eyes were no longer red.

She gestured towards the boom-box blasting music. It shut down, now leaving 'Rock of Love' glaring on the flat-screen. She looked at it, the volume lowered to the halfway setting. The perfect level in her opinion. She received a glare from the boy wonder, who was annoyed that his favorite song had been cut off. She nodded in his direction and floated to the couch, taking a seat next to the current resident, the green boy.

She looked through the fabric of her hood at the screen. She frowned at the program, some reality TV show. She looked over at the shapeshifter.

"If I wanted to watch people make idiots of themselves, I'd go to the beach."

The boy peeled his eyes from the screen and looked over at the girl. A broad grin plastered on his face.

"Dude! It was awesome, these girl's started making out, and… raven." He stopped as he realized the person next to him was _not_ Cyborg.

The empath frowned at him. "That's awesome alright." She said dryly.

He laughed nervously and offered the girl the remote. Who aptly refused and focused on the screen. The green boy followed suit.

Raven dully stared at the picture, absent mindedly watching the show. She was thinking to herself. Asking herself, why she was having those dreams. She thought they were _behind _her. She thought she could forget about them. But it seemed she couldn't. She sighed and focused on the television, trying to think about something less dramatic.

She grimaced as two girls got in a fight, not a decent, respectable fist fight. A full on, hair pulling screech-fest. _Who watches this shit?_ She looked back over at the absorbed boy. _…right._

**Chapter 2: Lust**

**Wake**

**Chapter 2:**

_Who watches this shit? _The empath looked over at the absorbed green boy. _…right._

She sighed and turned back to the screen, having nothing better to do.

A girl was crouched over, kneeling on the ground. She watched the crimson drip off her curled fingers, watched it stream down her arms, watched it form a puddle beneath her. She stared at it. The red, it was beautiful. She gazed at the liquid, she could see herself. Deep blue hair flowing down, shielding her face from bystanders view. Her eyes glazed over, dull, almost lifeless. Her lips contorted into an empty smile as a single tear joined her blood.

Raven lazily opened her eyes, squinting against the light flowing in from the window. She turned her head into her pillow, burying her face in the cool fabric. She remembered. Rather, she had always remembered, always been aware of her past. However, now staring her in the face, she had no choice but to acknowledge it, embrace it, only then could she indefinitely put it behind her.

She took a deep breath and removed herself from her bed. Thankful she wasn't crying, and surprised that she had in the first place. It wasn't like her to get so upset over something so meaningless. It wasn't like her to get _upset _in the first place. She donned her uniform and shrugged on her cape, loosely wrapping it around her, leaving the hood down. She started off to the kitchen, and made damn sure she was hungry before doing so.

As she approached the end of the hall she slowed, something wasn't right. It was… quiet. Something unheard of in the morning. She took several cautious steps and peered around the corner, before groaning. The other titans _were_ there, and for some reason, silent. No one manned the stove, the Coffey maker, anything. She looked them. All sitting in their seats, legs crossed, fingers meshed and put on the table, supporting their emotionless faces.

"Guys?"

The empath got no response. Her previous annoyance turned to concern. Were they hurt? Did they do something?

"Guys! Why aren't you talking?"

The others stared at each other, not moving, not talking, not breathing, not blinking. Intently staring at her.

"guys….Guys!...GUYS!"

"Raven, you ok?" the empath quickly blinked her eyes open, she was on the floor. And some _green _thing was standing over her. She groaned as her head started to register pain. She had an earsplitting headache.

"What happened?" the green lad questioned

"I'm supposed to ask that" she grunted while clasping her head. It was one _nasty_ headache.

"Well you walked into the kitchen, and, **BAM!**" he pounded air. "You fell, hit your head pretty good too."

She grimaced and removed her hand from her head, She slowly to her feet, and ignored the stares from the other titans, who were standing in a circle around her.

"Friend raven, are you alright?" the tamaranian asked.

She looked up at them, each in turn, finally resting on the alien. "I'm fine."

"Are you sure?" robin said. "You just fell for no reason!"

Her expression turned neutral and she looked away from the masked boy, down at the white floor. "I'm just a little tired, that's all."

The silence after her response was broken as the leaders com. Unit started beeping like mad.

Raven scowled as he snatched the device from his belt, flipping it open. She raised a brow as his eye twitched.

"The H.I.V.E five are robbing a bank…"

Beast Boy tore his focus from the dark titan and passed a shocked look to the twitching teen. "Dude, didn't we like, just stop them?"

Robin turned his glare from the screen, up to the green boy, who flinched.

"Yeah." He grunted. "Well… " he cleared his throat. "Titans, Go!"

"Why would you rob the same bank twice?" A mail box turned black and ripped itself from the ground, rocketing at the other girl.

The pink haired girl hopped over the projectile. "It was gizmo's idea!" She dashed to the empath, Cheshire cat grin on her face. She told herself she would win this time, she would _not _lose again. She ducked a car and dove for the titan, missing by a fraction of an inch. She landed on her hands and pushed herself back in a flip, landing firmly on her feet. She sidestepped a punch and fell to the ground, throwing a spin kick at the titan. She inwardly applauded. She knew it would hit, even robin couldn't dodge _that_, She grinned as he felt her foot contact flesh. She whipped her leg around, hurling the titan to the ground and completing her rotation, swinging rather gracefully to her feet.

_Damnit lust, not now._ Raven cursed inwardly while quickly getting to her feet.

_Why so harsh? There's always time to talk._ The voice mockingly spoke

The empath sluggishly dodged a punch, actually feeling a breeze following the fist. _Not now there isn't, can't you see I'm busy?_

_Really? _It said dryly, _well I'll have to fix that…_

Raven's eyes widened as she went limp. Her arms fell loosely to her sides and she fell to her knees on the pavement. She contacted with the ground and gasped as pain shot up her legs.

_What did __**you**__ do! _She growled in her head.

_Nothing much, just a little… assistance…_

Jinx stared absently as the titan fell to the ground. _She _hadn't done that, at least… she thought she didn't. She shrugged and leered at the girl before turning on her heels to help her comrades, she knew the brat could certainly use her help. She took her first step and froze as chills ran up and down her spine. Fear coursed through her veins as she cautiously turned, facing the downed girl. Her catlike pupils raced, feebly attempting to focus on the girl who seemed to blur with her every move, her image stretching and distorting in ripples.

She took a step back as the empath was pulled to her feet as though by a string, her arms dangling at her sides, her head aimlessly turning, casually looking around. She felt her heart skip a beat as she caught the girls eye… eyes. Scarlet glowing eyes that seemed to bore through her soul. She vainly tried to take another step back, and violently looked at the ground. The pavement was flowing in waves, lazily constricting her feet in a layer of revived rock. She tugged at her foot as she saw the girl take steps forward from the top of her vision.

_My my my… what have we here?_ She heard a voice in her head, echoing back and forth, dripping with intentions. She tore her eyes from the ground and looked up, through the screams of her muscles to look away. She saw the titan lazily stroll forward, fully animated, arms swinging at her sides, a shit-eating grin on her face. The familiar brilliant red eyes staring back her.

_Quite a problem, aren't you? _It said dryly.

Her remark caught in her throat as her arms were violently detached from her leg and hauled away, fully extending, hands resting slightly above her head. She yanked at them, vainly attempting to pull them down, to escape. She focused on her limbs, her eyes widened as she saw the thick cuffs on her wrists, pale black chains clasped and taut, strung from seemingly nothing. She gasped as her free leg sunk into the ground. She was trapped once again.

She heaved at the links, raising her legs, trying to free herself. She firmly closed her eyes as the situation sunk in. She tensed as nimble fingers cupped her chin and raised her head.

"My… how the tables have turned."

Jinx's fear dissipated as she heard the other girls voice, she knew the hero would never hurt her, _kill _her. Hearing that voice was relaxing by comparison. She took a deep breath and blinked open. She exhaled as she met violet eyes.

"Not so strong now, are you."

The thief's heart once again pounded in her chest. That tone was _not _raven's. It was malicious, threatening. Her eyes widened and she pulled her chest back as she felt nails lightly rake across her stomach.

She blushed furiously. "What the fuckare you doing!" she shouted, her voice faltering.

The thief glared daggers at her captor. What the hell was going on?

"Such a dirty word from such a pretty mouth." She lightly turned the girls head once again, looking deeply into her eyes.

Jinx tried to look away, she willed her neck to turn. She _commanded_ it! Yet it disobeyed her, she was no longer its master. She uttered a small noise from her throat as she helplessly watched the girl lean in and capture her lips.

_What are you doing lust? _The empath shouted in her mind.

It chuckled. _What we both desire, my dear raven._

Beast boy bellowed at her, "RAVEN! What the hell are you doing?" he had just 'elephant-ed' mammoth through a wall, who was promptly knocked unconscious by the boy wonder. His jaw dropped when he witnessed _raven, _kiss _jinx_, the villain-thief extraordinaire.

Lust pulled away, openly licking the other girls lips. She turned her head to look at the dumfounded boy. She flicked her wrist at the shape-shifter who was violently thrown backwards and out of sight.

_Don't touch them! _Raven mentally screamed.

"Then can I touch _her?_´ she cupped the trapped girls cheek, who was wide eyed and furiously blushing. Her mouth slightly agape.

_NO!_

Raven quietly laughed. _Then it's a good thing you're the one doing it_

_NO! you will NOT control me!_

Raven clutched her head and fell to the ground. The thief's arms were released from the shackles and fell limply to her sides; her feet were pushed back above ground. She blankly watched the empath writhe on the ground. Jinx raised a hand to touch her lips. She pulled her fingers away, they were wet. She glanced down at her wrist, there was a deep bruise encircling it. She gazed over at the titan, as if asking for an explanation.

_GET OUT! _With a final shout lust was banished back to her mind. The empath coughed and placed her hand on her forehead, pushing herself up with her other arm and staring at the ground.

She said between heavy breaths, "Sorry… jinx"

The thief heard the girl apologize, she watched the other girl slowly raising her head. She saw a single tear fall from her eyes. She took a step back, that sole tear scared her more than everything that had just happened. _That is __**not**__ raven, it can't be her, she would __**never **__cry. _Fearing she would be bound once again, she madly turned on her heels and sprinted away, leaving the titan kneeling on the ground.

Raven watched the girl bolt away. She frowned as robin chased after her.

"ROBIN!" He froze. The empath rarely spoke above a normal voice, if she was _yelling_, it was most likely damn important. He looked over his shoulder at the girl.

"Leave her." She muttered, looking back down at the ground.

"Raven!, she's a-"

"LEAVE HER!" she yelled at the pavement.

He turned to the girl, frowning. "…We can't just let her get away, sh-"

"Please… just let her go."

The masked boy sighed and turned his back to the girl, reaching into his belt and pulling out his communicator. "Status?"

"The big guy's down for the count, and cy's got the little angry dude. You get jinx?"

He looked over his shoulder. "No, she got away… robin out." He firmly shut the device and shoved it back into his belt.

He walked over to the girl and offered her a hand. "… let's go."

Jinx was strewn on her mattress, pink eyes dully staring at her ceiling. Looking up through slits. She was completely devoid of energy, and sprawling out on a comfortable bed was _exactly _what she needed. She daintily lifted her wrist to her face, eyeing the mark.

… _what happened. _She remembered the feeling, being helpless, restrained. She remembered the kiss, passionate, deep. It had felt so good… so why did she feel so violated? It held significant meaning for her… it was… her first. She remembered the look in the other girls eye._ Lust_… for her. She balled her hand into a fist.

_Damnit!_

She shut her eyes.

_God Damnit! _She tensed her hand and tightened her eyes as the bruise thwarted.

_Raven…_

_Why would you do that…_

_Why in the HELL would you do that!_

_WHY DID YOU DO IT!_

She released her hand and opened her eyes with a heave sigh, returning her stare to the tiles above her head.

_Why…_

_What the fuck were you thinking Lust! _

_Now now, is that tone really necessary? _

_Answer the question!_

_Again with the yelling, honestly, there's no reason to yell._

_Damnit lust! Stop dancing around the question._

_Why ask a question you know the answer to? Hmm?_

_What are you talking about._

_You now what I'm talking about, after all, you're the reason it even happened._

_No! I'm not! I wouldn't do that-_

_Ah, But __**I**__ would, and what am I but a part of you?_

Raven angrily looked to the side. _… My first kiss, you __**stole**__ my first kiss! _

_Stole? I merely grasped what we both wanted._

The empath heaved a sigh and turned over on her bed, staring off into nothing. _…just leave me alone…_

_Of course, whatever you want, my master._

Beast boy stomped over to robin, scowling. "DUDE! Did you see? Raven THREW me into a buil-" he went silent as a hand was clapped over his mouth, he glared over the limb and blinked several times.

"Drop it." Robin replied, he removed his hand and turned.

"I could have DIED!"

Robin turned back around. "We kick people into buildings every day, the same goes for them. Just trust me on this, drop it." He turned once again and started to the gym for his daily workout routine.

The shapeshifter sobered at the other boys serious tone. "…what happened?"

"Dunno." He muttered and continued to the elevator.

_the next day:_

Beast boy bashed on the metal door, the sound reverberating through the halls.

"Raven!"

The door immediately opened a crack, and he could see the empaths' eyes peeking from under her hood. "What?"

He formed a nervous grin. "Well its three-and you haven't left your room… so…" his sentence dropped off.

"Soooo… what?"

"Nothing-nothing, just… making sure your alright, that's all-well, see ya." He turned to leave.

"Gar."

His shoulders drooped at the sound of her voice… so sad. He looked over his shoulder.

"…I'm sorry… for what I did." She muttered from behind the sliding door.

"… Yeah." He padded down the hall, leaving the girl to shut her door.

Raven banged her head against the closed door. She sighed. Everything was falling apart, her life was falling apart. And she didn't know how to fix it.

She groaned as her communicator vibrated on her belt, shocking her from her stupor.

Maybe _beating_ the shit out of someone would calm her down…

Jinx blinked and looked over at her dresser as her phone rung. She grinned at her ringtone. She hadn't heard that song in a while, she'd forgotten how much she liked it.

_Take a train in New York City met a guy I thought was pretty. _She screamed the lyrics in her head and rolled off her bed, waltzing over to her phone.

She snatched it from her dresser and flipped it open in a fluid motion, one she had practiced on a particularly boring heist.

"H'yello."

"Hey jinx" a deep voice came over the speaker.

"Mammoth? How'd you get out of jail so quickly?"

"We got a guy." He calmly stated. "We're robbin' some place, wanna' tag along?"

"Yeah, I could use a distraction." She said with a smile and closed her phone, tossing it back onto her bed.

Robin retrieved his com Unit from his desk after wiping his hands on a towel, since he didn't want to get grease on it. _…jinx._ He frowned at the screen. Apparently the H.I.V.E were robbing another bank. The _same _bank. He knew something had happened between the empath and jinx, and he wanted it out of the way. He was far to anal to allow a conflict of interest in the titans, can't have an apprehensive hero after all. After a moments consideration, he decided to send her alone, give her a "chance" to work out whatever problem she had.

He dialed raven. "Raven."

She raised a brow.

"Up for something?"

Ravens' eye twitched as she observed the scene. A girl with brilliant pink hair strolling out of a bank, wads on money tucked securely under her arms. The _same _bank she had "visited" two other times in the past week. She was beginning to think the thief had no sense at all. However, that was the furthest thought from her mind. She pulled out her communicator and flipped it open, dialing the boy wonder.

"Send someone else"

"Why?"

"It'd be too" she looked away from the screen "… awkward."

He frowned. _What happened? _"awkward?"

"Just do it!"

"look, I don't know what happened, but you need to resolve _whatever_ it is, or it'll eat at you forever"

Raven sighed. "Damnit… when the hell did you get so understanding?"

He shrugged and logged off, leaving the empath to cope with her apprehension. The empath slipped her communicator back into her belt and looked back up at the go city bank. She shook out her limbs and went airborn, gliding over to the thief. She began her mantra and stopped as she felt something on her back. The empath pulled at her cloak so she could see the back. There was a metallic round thing latched onto it, and it was… _blinking?_

Her eyes went wide and she made a desperate attempt to remove the damned thing. She was too late, it exploded, not a flaming death ball explosion, a pure air explosion. She felt the shockwave resonate throughout her body, she firmly shut her eyes as a low rumbling blazed. She dropped to the ground, her ears agonizingly ringing. She managed to land on her feet as she made contact with the cement. The empath stumbled around, her sense of balance lost. She clapped her hands to her ears and fell to her knees.

"My how the tables have turned."

Raven heard a faint voice, she cracked her eyes open. She saw three figures, between the immense and tiny, was jinx.

"Teh, pit licker." The small boy muttered.

The pink haired girl strolled up to the kneeling titan, a smirk on her face. She cupped the girls chin and raised her head, looking her in the eyes.

"Pay-back is-a _bitch_." She grinned and raised her leg, kneeing the girl in the face. The empath fell on her side, her head cracking to the ground.

Jinx gave a slight laugh and lowered her leg to the ground. "Let's go." She waved over her shoulder.

No response.

"Hey!" she turned around to look at her companions. "Le-" she stopped. They were gone. They were both gone? How? They were there just a second ago, how could they be gone?

The girl raised a brow and glanced around. _Where the hell are they?_

She felt something wet drip on her hair. She raised her hand and rubbed the spot, lowering her hand back to her face she eyed it curiously. _It's… BLOOD!_

Her eyes flew open and she rapidly look above her head. She gasped and stumbled back. Her friends, dangling from the sky, impaled through the stomach by a line of chains. Blood flowing down the links, dripping from the rusted metal. Yet, they were alive, gasping in shallow breaths, clutching the chains, grunting through the searing pain, trying to break the bonds that held them to the sky.

_No need to be surprised, you'll be joining them shortly. _

She felt chills run through her spine, her hair stand on end. She spun on her heels and took another step back. Raven was on her feet, a sadistic look on her battered face.

"Certainly banged her up a bit, didn't you?" it remarked, fingering the gashes on her cheeks and nose. Jinx watched in horror as the girls wound sealed, the open flesh pulled roughly together, madly sizzling, burning itself closed, cauterizing.

Jinx gasped as jet black tendrils wrapped around her legs, her torso, her arms. Constricting her. Writhing, as though they were living, pulsing creatures.

_NO! please, no! not again! _She silently screamed in her head

"Who the hell are you?" She shouted from her bindings.

The empath smirked as her burning flesh paled, healing over. The sadistic smile returning as she lazily strolled over to the bound girl. She stopped in front of her, looking her in the eye.

"I'm raven, at least, a part of her." She cupped the girls cheek, leaning in further, mere inches from the thief. "And it's all thanks to you that I got out, knocking her unconscious like that. Really. That seems a bit low, even for you."

The empath leaned in further, their lips barely touching The pink haired girls' eyes widened, she flushed and tried to pull away. She failed as the shadows twisted up to her head, firmly holding it in place. "But, I think I can forgive you…"

Raven pulled back, chuckling to herself.

Jinx shuddered as she felt drops of warm blood rain down, splashing her face and flowing down, leaving brilliant scarlet lines.

The empath ceased her laughter and held out a hand, catching a drop of blood on her fingertip.

"Beautiful, isn't it?"

"FUCK YOU!" she blurted out. Her fear tangible, binding her words as the tendrils bound her.

Raven calmly looked up from her reddened finger at the girl. She leaned in once again.

"If you insist…" she said in a sensual tone of voice. The empath closed on the girl, catching her lips in a kiss.

Jinx furiously blushed as she felt a velvety soft tongue enter her mouth. She strained against the shadows, trying to break free.

Raven retreated, broadly grinning. "We'll finish this another time, love."

With a final smirk, the empath stumbled back, blinking rapidly. Deep violet eyes glanced around.

_What… happened?_

She regained her balance and looked up at the thief. She was still trapped in a bundle of vines. She felt something wet hit her cheek. She glanced up.

… _my chains._

She gaped.

_Those are my FUCKING chains!_

She clutched her chest, feeling her heart violently pound in her chest. The thief was released, dropping to the ground.

The chains faded, and the two figures hit ground with a sickening splat. A red tide ebbing away from their crushed forms.

Jinx looked down at the girl. Her eyes still wide in shock. She limply turned her head, turning her gaze to her mutilated friends. Her vision blurred and she groaned, seizing her stomach as she felt overwhelming nausea grasp her.

_They're dead…_

… _dead_

She fell to her knees, blankly staring at the ground.

She looked back up at her friends and squinted. Something wasn't right. They were seizing, writhing on the ground, splashing in the pools of blood.

_They're alive!_

The thief turned her head, glancing over her shoulder at the titan. The empath was extending her arm. Her hand encased in a white flame, dripping to the ground, crackling as it contacted the concrete.

Raven concentrated with all her power. She could still save them, _there was still time_. She groaned as she felt unconsciousness pulling at her mind.

_I will __**not**__ let them die, not because of me._

The titan faintly smiled as the scarlet receded, pulling back into the gaping wounds, closing them.

… _I did it._

She looked from the breathing corpses to the pink haired girl. "I'm sorry." She murmured, before dropping to the ground.

**Chapter 3: Rage**

Read on.

**Wake**

**Chapter 3:**

"I'm sorry…"

Jinx watched the girl fall to the ground, exhausted. She turned her head back to her friends. The thief sighed as they slowly got to their feet and returned her stare.

"You guys ok?"

Mammoth nodded with a glare on his face, he turned to the titan, scowling. He took shaking steps to the girl, cracking his knuckles.

Jinx watched him curiously. Her eyes widened as he approached the empath, bending over and roughly picking her up by her neck.

_What are you doing? _She screamed in her mind. She opened her mouth and tried to say it, shout it, all that came out was a low groan.

Mammoth glowered at the empath held in his hand.

"I… saved… you…" raven said through struggled breaths.

He said nothing and pulled back his massive fist, stretching it far behind his head. He forced his hand forward with all his might.

There was a crunch as bone met bone. Blood dripped from the empaths' face and her head drooped in his grasp, she was unconscious. He pulled his hand back once again.

Jinx stared wide eyed as the empath's' blood littered the pavement. Her mouth fell open as she watched the girls head fall, her eyes slam shut. She found her voice.

"STOP!" She shouted at the boy. She knew what would happen if the girl was asleep, it had _just_ happened for gods' sake.

Mammoth disregarded her plea and rocketed his hand forward. He was stopped. He looked away from the girl down at his fist. It was caught in her outstretched palm, being held as if it was nothing, effortless.

He tried to pull his hand back, he strained against the girl, who was casually grasping his limb.

He loosed a mangled cry as she clasped his hand, shattering it, crushing it into a bloodied pulp.

Raven raised her free arm to her neck, peeling off the massive hand that was clutching her throat. She drifted to the ground, her head still loosely hanging down, her face not visible.

Robin idly watched the clock tick away. He was worried, raven had been gone a long time, too long. She wasn't answering his calls either.

He sighed. It was his duty to check up on her, even if she didn't need _or _want him to. He grabbed his cape and headed for his bike.

Raven raised her hand and extended her fingers. She loosed a sadistic grin from under her hood and shot her hand forward.

Mammoth's jaw lazily dropped, he felt his strength hemorrhage, his legs wobble. He fell to his knees, a shocked expression on his face. He groaned as he felt the girls hand twist, shattering his ribs. The girl removed her fingers from his chest with a sickening pop, blood spurted from the wound, pooling on the ground.

The boy fell to the ground for the second time that day.

Jinx watched in sheer horror as her friend was impaled, as his blood introduced itself to her for the second time that day.

She tore her stare from mammoth, focusing on raven.

The thief froze as she felt primal fear resonate throughout her body, unimaginable fear. She opened her mouth and feebly tried to talk.

Raven slowly took steps forward, a sadistic grin on her face, prominent canines gleaming. A crease forming on her chest, it split open, sprouting rows upon rows of daggers.

Jinx gasped and ordered her legs to move, she turned and sprinted away.

_Rage is loosed. _

The voice in her head sent shivers up and down her spine. The thief felt her legs weaken.

_Rage will devour, Rage will slash, Rage will tear_

She felt her heart relentlessly pound in her chest.

_Rage will rip the skin from your flesh._

She collapsed to the ground, skidding to a halt.

_Your flesh from your bones_

The thief clawed at the ground, pulling herself further along the pavement.

_Rage will find you._

Her eyes widened and her pupils shrank to miniscule dots. She pushed herself up, rolling over to look above her. Her blood froze over as she saw the girl, floating inches above her, lying down in the air and looking her straight in the eyes. Her heart stopped as the maw on the girls chest split open, razor sharp teeth haphazardly pointing from the flesh, dripping, oozing drool. Nothing but shadows past them, as though it were a portal to a dimension of pure darkness, she could feel something in the pit of her stomach, looming over her through the great jaws.

_And Rage will be sated._

She stared wide eyed and paralyzed with fear as the jaws slowly closed around her, stabbing into her warm flesh. An agonized scream crept up the girls throat as the teeth sunk into her skin.

Then it was gone, she was back on the pavement, looking up at the dull blue sky, her wounds gone, her fear gone, and moreover, the girl gone. She sat up and got to her feet, absently looking around. She spotted her fellow thieves, the large sprawled out on the ground in a pool of blood, the small nowhere to be seen.

"Jinx, what happened?"

She looked over her shoulder.

The boy wonder asked once again. "What happened?"

She opened her mouth to speak, nothing. Her voice was long since gone.

"JINX!" he shouted at the girl.

"…You're too late..."

A pause.

"Please… " she turned around to face the downed teen. "Save him… please"

He sobered. "There's already an ambulance on the way, he'll be fine, Go city has the finest medical staff in the country."

"Now, you _need_ to tell me what happened."

She screamed as her shackles turned red hot, vaporizing her sensitive skin. Agonizing moments later it cooled and the girl caught her breath. She regenerated. However, the stench remained, the odor, the foul stench of burning flesh, of boiling blood, nausea overwhelmed her as the fire hungrily licked at her skin.

_Will you serve me? Minion. _a voice asked. Deep, low, almost a snarl. His voice raised the fires around the deep blue haired girl.

The girl shut her mouth, slammed her eyes closed, scrunching her face together. She would _not _make a sound, not for _him_. She restrained a piercing scream as the fire that surrounded her grew, grew so much hotter, so much darker. The black flames hungrily devoured her still feeling flesh.

_ANSWER ME!_

The sound resonated throughout; it madly shook the chains, the chains that snaked under her skin, that penetrated her flesh, that bound her in hell.

"I will not serve you, father."

The chains that ran throughout her body twisted, turned, burrowed. The fire around her exploded forwards.

She could feel everything… The pain, the agonizing, excruciating, unbearable pain. She felt the chains drill into her, she felt them penetrate her chest, her legs, her arms.

The girl screamed as her flesh was carved away by chains, her blood spattering in front of her, She cried out as she was encased in searing fire, she felt her flesh smoldering, crusting. She felt every pore, every cell be burned alive.

Once more, it healed, she regained her skin, her wounds closed, her blood returned to her veins.

Raven looked at her chains. Immense, rusted, there is no open or close. It was welded shut, a permanent part of the girl. She looked down at her feet. Spikes rammed through her tendons, nailing her to the rock and stone and fire around her.

_No… NO… NO! PLEASE! NO!_

Her punishment started once again. So did the screams.

The world rapidly came into focus, she was straddling a girl, face to face. She laid maimed on the ground, surrounded by a pool of cold red blood.

Tears came to her eyes as she recognized the corpse,_ jinx_. She reached out a hand to cup the girls face.

_Did… did I do this?_

Her eyes widened. She remembered, what she had done. Devoured her, ripped the flesh from her bones, left her to rot like filth, left her to putrefy in the gutters. The same of her companion. She looked over her shoulder at the teen, who was splayed out on the ground. She faintly smiled as she saw him, his wounds weren't nearly as bad at hers, he would live through it. She looked back to the girl.

"I'm sorry… Jinx." She muttered.

A tear dropped from her eye.

"I'm so sorry."

She leaned in, giving a final kiss to the girl, meeting her deliciously soft, warm lips.

…_warm_

_she's warm…_

Raven ruefully smiled as it dawned on her. She could save the girl. There was still time.

However… what then? Surely the girl would hate her, hate her with a passion for nearly killing her, molesting her, surely she would despise her forever, wouldn't she?

_No._

She blinked away a tear.

_I will not be responsible for her death._

_I will __**not **__be like HIM!_

She lowered her hands to the girls chest, summoning all her power. Her fingers glowed white, giving off an intense heat. She burned through the other girls cloths, straight to the crook of her neck, then she stopped. Barely touching her neck.

The blood surrounding her rippled, and was sucked in, absorbed back into the body of the unconscious girl.

Raven smiled through the pouring tears as she felt the girls' chest slowly rise, filling her repaired lungs with air.

She blinked away the tears as the girls eyes began to twitch. Her smile faded, as did she, not wanting to be around when the girl awoke.

Raven appeared back in her room, her eyes still red from her tears. She took a seat on her bed and fell backwards onto the mattress.

_What in the hell were you thinking!_

_Oh me oh my, seems like you've got some misdirected anger. _

_Answer the fucking question!_

_Don't feed the beast, master. She's already got enough fury for the both of us._

_Are you telling me it was rage?_

_Really mistress… to think that I would harm what I lust for, you must be off your game. No wonder she got out._

Raven sighed as her anger turned to annoyance.

_We need to work on that attitude._

_You do realize that it's __**your**__ attitude you're talking about._

_Damnit Lust! … she could've died… she almost did… _She regretfully thought.

_You forget what you are, master._

… _I suppose I do… _The empath slowly got off the bed and slipped out of her clothes, sliding underneath the sheets of her bed. She needed some rest, or at least to lye down.

_Mammoth… _Jinx stared at her friend from her seat at his bedside. She listened to the steady beep of his heart on the monitor, watched his breath fog the oxygen mask strapped to his face.

_Wake up._

_Please… you're my best friend…_

She rapidly blinked as she felt her eyes clouding.

"Jinx." Robin said from over her shoulder.

"… How is he?"

"He broke fifteen bones in his right hand, six of his ribs and punctured his left lung… He lost a lot of blood, so there's significant trauma... "

"…Think he'll make it?..."

"…What is he?… to you."

"… A good friend."

"… Yeah, he'll make it… Jinx?"

"…Hmm?" she grunted.

"You need to go."

She sighed. "… to jail?..."

"No… home, you need some rest."

She looked over her shoulder, a look of surprise on her face. "But… I'm a thief."

He softened as he saw her bloodshot eyes. "That doesn't mean you're not a person, anyone would need some time after something like this… so, go home. But next time I see you, I'm taking you in. Got it?"

"…Yeah."

…_No._ The empath continued to weep, she fell back on her side, curling up. She felt the tears run down her cheeks, but she didn't care… She shivered as the cold embraced her exposed body, and pulled the sheets up to her eyes.

She remembered the pain so vividly, her dream so vividly. She could still feel the chains, grinding into her flesh. She could still feel the pink haired girls stare. Looking at her like she was inhuman. She could still feel the girls lips gently pressed against hers.

And she was angry

Angry that she would recall such pointless things… things that would never become anything else.

Angry that she had let her emotions gain so much control over her, she was supposed to be in control of them, she was supposed to be in control damnit!

Yet… through her grief she was relieved. Relieved that she had saved the other girl, relieved that her hands had not been tainted with blood, relieved that she had not become what she strived-what she lived- to avoid.

She was not a killer.

She was not her father.

And as long as she lived, as long as she could fight it, she never would be.

At least she hoped, the girl was still unaware of mammoths condition, she had left him to die, though he would live if given medical help. Perhaps that was her passive aggressive revenge, still angry with him deep down, for what he had done.

But she had to know, she had to know if she ever wanted a remotely peaceful sleep ever again.

She sighed and threw off the covers, rolled to her feet and slipped on her clothes, as well as her cloak, pulling the hood up over her face. She waved her hand at a wall, summoning the shadows, ordering them to take her to him. She relaxed herself as the darkness reached out, gently wrapping around her in strands, pulling her into the center, she tensed momentarily as the overwhelming cold met her skin.

And then she was gone.

Blackness darkened the room, sucking the light into the pitch, overpowering it. Then it receded, sliding over the walls, floor, leaving it as it was, save an extra person.

Raven stood in next to the bed, staring down at the bedridden man. Her eyes glazed over as she heard his heart monitor, as she saw his breathing apparatus.

Save him, or not, rather, to help him or not. With a glance, she could tell it would be months -nay- years before he woke on his own.

The same, familiar conflict of interest played over in her mind. Why should she save him? He would have killed her had rage not taken over. Even after she saved him from lust, he tried to kill her.

Why should she save him?

What reason did she have to?

He would not die, he would simply not awake. Whether she helped him or not, she would not be responsible for a death, for his death.

So why should she save him?

Ultimately she had no reason… didn't she?

No…

She had a reason.

Jinx

The empath felt she owed the girl, the girl she had nearly killed three times in the past. She could feel their relation in the bedridden man, they were friends, good friends, nearly siblings… they were all they had.

Who was she to take that away from the thief? If even for a while…

She made the choice, the only choice she would have ever made, could have ever made.

She extended her hands, hovering them over his heart and skull. She took a deep breath and concentrated, willed his body to heal, to regenerate.

She felt his body respond. His ribs spread, mesh together, become one once again. She felt his stump of a hand crack, felt it splinter as it was pulled flat, as the bones laced together.

She removed her hands and watched his eyes lazily blink open.

"No one deserves to die." She muttered to herself.

His eyes focused on her as he recognized her voice, understood her words, a look of fear on his face. He was afraid of her, even after she had saved him once again. He strained to sit up, but fell inches back to the mattress as an immense pain coursed through is veins.

"Don't move, you still need to rest."

His wide eyes closed slightly as he realized she hadn't come to finish the job. Why was she there? He asked himself.

"…Why… are you here?" he gasped through his mask.

"Same reason as you… to get fixed." She lied through her teeth.

He smiled as best he could, relaxing as common sense slapped him in the face, if she was there to kill him, he would be dead, at least… dead-er.

He knew she wasn't telling the truth, anyone that had heard tone her would have.

"…You're… a bad liar." He muttered through the mask.

"… I must be off my game." She said dryly.

"… you saved… me?..."

"…yeah."

"… why?... I almost… killed you…" he wheezed through deep breaths, he _had_ nearly killed her after shehad saved him, why would she do it again?

"The problem with an eye for an eye… is everyone ends up blind." She muttered.

Mammoth's eyes looked away from the titan to the tiled ceiling above his head, they closed.

"Can you… tell Jinx… that I'm awake?..." he panted. "… I don't… want her… to cry… over me…"

The empath walked to the other side of his bed, summoning a limp bag, and hanging it on one of the hooks, stabbing a needle into the crook of his arm. "Don't talk, get some rest." She said and stepped back, receding into the shadows.

The man took deep breaths, and settled back into the bed as his pains slowly dissipated. He grinned as he looked at the bag hanging next to his bed, dripping down the translucent tube into his veins.

Props to Mr. Morphine.

Raven appeared in an apartment, dimly lit, sparsely decorated, only the necessities present. Save the television of course.

She turned her attention to the couch in front of her, to the girl sprawled out on it. She internally sighed as she pink haired girl dropped the remote and quietly cursed to herself.

She was nervous.

The empath didn't want to confront the thief, not after what had just happened. She knew the anger that the girl felt, the sheer hatred she concealed under her dull visage. But, she had a duty to, to tell her. Even though she knew what the girls reaction would be to her presence. She summoned up her courage and opened her mouth.

Jinx sat on her couch, laid back, her legs crossed, and a tub of chocolate ice cream propped between her thighs. She thought she needed it, but it didn't look good anymore. She stared at her TV that sat directly across from her, blankly watching an episode of Scrubs, it used to make her smile, but now… it was to close to home.

She would change the channel, but the remote had fallen off her leg, and was feet away from her, lying on the floor, seeming to mock her with its very existence.

"Remote, come here" she beckoned to it.

"Jinx"

Her hair stood on end as she heard a voice coming from behind her. She stumbled off the couch to her feet, turning around to face the person.

Her eyes widened and she took a step back. "Get away from me!" the fear in her voice betraying her desired confident, composed manner.

"Jinx." She took a step forward, pulling down her hood, looking at the girl with her deep violet eyes.

"Get the HELL away from me!" she took another step back, bumping into a wall.

"Calm down, I'm not going to hurt you, I promise."

Her fear turned to anger as she remembered her friend, lying in the hospital, trapped in a coma.

"You killed him!"

"He's not dead." She tried to calm the girl.

"YOU KILLED HIM!" she shouted.

"Jinx, listen to me." She said in a low tone.

"YOU FUCKING KILLED HIM!"

"JINX!" the thief shut her mouth, her fear returning.

Raven took a deep breath, ridding herself of her frustrations. "He told me to tell you… He's awake." She looked down at the carpeted floor. "And… I'm sorry… for what I did." She shut her eyes. "I don't expect you to forgive me…" she muttered. "I don't deserve it." She stepped back into the shadows, vanishing from the girls presence.

Jinx slowed her breathing as the other girl disappeared. She shut her eyes and took a deep breath. _Wait… _She blinked open, a vague smile on her lips. _He's awake._ She grinned. "He's awake!" She forgot all about her anger, about her lust for revenge.

She picked her ice cream off the floor and chucked it into her freezer. The girl started to the door, grabbing her coat on the way.

Jinx approached the doorway, broadly smiling. He was _awake_. He was actually awake! She hadn't dared hope he would get better so soon, her name was _jinx_ after all. She turned the corner, leaning against the doorframe and grinning at the bedridden man.

"I hear you're awake."

He slowly blinked open and turned his head to the door, smiling with all his strength. His face threatened to rip apart.

"Word spreads fast." He said, not pained by his movement.

Her smile vanished. "…Raven was here… wasn't she." She said in a malicious tone of voice.

His grin vanished. "…Yeah…" he murmured.

"…What'd she do?"

"…She saved me, hell, she even gave me some painkillers." He gestured to the bag hanging on his left.

Jinx raised a brow, "She saved you?"

"…Yeah… " He looked back at the ceiling. "Didn't even get a chance to thank her."

"WHY WOULD YOU THANK HER! SHE ALMOST KILLED YOU!" She shouted at him, furious.

He didn't flinch. "But she didn't"

She opened her mouth to speak, she didn't get a chance.

"She saved me, even after I almost killed _her_… "

Her mouth slowly closed and she sighed, looking down at her feet, embarrassed that she had let her anger control her. "… I was worried about you."

"That's good to hear."

"Don't be so nonchalant about this." She muttered. "You had me worried!"

"… sorry."

"But… I'm glad you're alright."

"Me too man, me too."

"Damnit mammoth!"

He chuckled to himself and winced as his chest raised. He groaned. "…ouch..."

"Good old karma, huh?"

He strained not to laugh at the girls slightly dry comment. "Yeah, crazy world we live in."

She smiled. "Yeah."

**Chapter 4: Reason**

**Wake**

**Chapter 4:**

"Yeah, crazy world we live in."

"Yeah"

"Jinx" he shot her a look.

"Hmm?" she grunted.

"Could you thank her for me?" he asked hopefully.

The girl scowled. "WHY would I thank her, she almost killed us!"

"She saved us." he meekly replied.

"She saved YOU! _After _she almost killed you, TWICE!" Her shouts were beginning to concern the medical staff.

"She saved both of us, we would've died if she hadn't." He fogged up his oxygen mask.

"She NEVER saved me!"

Mammoth looked away from the steaming girl, back to the ceiling, a grave expression on his face.

"You don't remember, do you."

Jinx sobered at his reaction, she had never seen him act so serious, even with his own _life_ in danger he could be so casual about it. He always said that… serious moments were uncomfortable. What would –could- make him behave this way? "…what?"

"After… after I got stabbed. I heard you, screaming." He heaved a sigh. "She tore you apart, jinx, she ripped you apart." He met her wide eyes once again. "Once you… quieted down, she… apologized. She saved you. She's the only reason you're still alive."

Jinx was furious. "SHE"S THE ONLY REASON I **COULD **HAVE DIED!" she bellowed at the man.

He didn't flinch. "You honestly think that was her?" he maintained a calm voice, he looked back up at the tiles. "Look at me, you think she would do this?" He returned his gaze to the girl, whose anger was deflating. "You think she'd do that to you?"

The girl opened her mouth to scream, to shout at the man. She froze for a moment and sighed, slouching her shoulders."

"…Damnit… When the hell did you get so logical!"

He lightly chuckled, not wanting to destroy the empath's previous efforts, and relieved that the moment had passed. "The very moment you weren't, one of us has to be."

She laughed. "Yeah, I bet combined we'd make a complete, functional person." She slowed her giggles to a stop and looked the man in the eye. "And…yeah, I'll thank her. BUT, only for YOU!" She pointed accusingly at him.

"That's all I could ask for." He gently raised his arm and shooed her away. "Giddyup."

Raven sat on the end her bed, supporting herself with her hands. Her bloodshot eyes staring off into nothing.

_She hates me…_

She shut her eyes.

_She really hates me._

_Wouldn't you? _She heard a voice she hadn't in the longest time. A frown formed on her lips.

_You're knowledge, not empathy._

_What is empathy but applying your knowledge of a similar situation?_

_What the hell is that supposed to mean. _She angrily thought

_Just your voice of reason._

_How can you be? Emotions are irrational by definition_

_So is Pi, but people listen to it anyways._

Her eye twitched, knowledge tended to be on the blunt side… and was a smartass, a complete smartass.

_I'm really not in the mood for this._

_I know, I am knowledge after all. _It said dryly.

_I bear nothing but hatred for you._

_I know that as well._

_Why are you here?_

_I was threatened on pain of death to tell you something._

…_By who?_

_Lust of course._

…_What did she say…_

_To go get a certain someone._

_Who?_

_Really master, you should know by now what she desires._

She looked to the side. _Yeah… I know… and I can't… she hates me._

_None of us, and therefore, __**you,**__ don't know that. _

_Even if she didn't, how the hell could I?_

_Ask lust, I'm sure she has many… colorful ideas._

She grinned. _Where's your knowledge now?_

_After all this time you still don't understand… we emotions are yours, and we are purely defined by whichever we represent. I may be knowledge, but I only __**know **__information that is purely for information's sake._

_Knowledge composed of lust is not knowledge, it is desire._

She twitched once again. _…god damnit…_

_We'll have round two another time. Bye bye ravie poo. _It said mockingly.

Raven loosed a low growl and punched the air. That girl was _so _frustrating! She muttered her mantra and sighed. The last thing she wanted to do was visit the girl. After their previous confrontation, what's to say the same thing wouldn't happen again.

_That's what's called a "false syllogism"_

_SHUT-THE-HELL-UP!_

Raven strolled down the streets dressed in her trademark uniform, attracting curious stares from pedestrians that were either aptly ignored or received the middle finger and a glare from several glowing red eyes. The equivalent of a mental kick in the crotch.

Oh yes, there were casualties.

She had decided to visit the girl, after some mild intervention of knowledge, mostly her threat to mouth off at every waking moment of her life. Amazing what a threat from lust can force one to do.

Still, she was considerably nervous, she could so vividly remember the expression on the other girls face. One of pure hatred, she was used to receiving glares from people, she was and had grown up… different. People were surprisingly incapable of accepting something that was unusual or unique. Something… different.

However, the pink haired girls' glare was for another reason. Not for her appearance, but for her actions. She had a valid reason to despise her. That was something she rarely experienced. Something she had always tried to avoid experiencing.

Being hated -being feared- , not for being different, but for causing pain-causing suffering, reminded her of her past, of her father.

And that was something she was desperate to put behind her.

She was torn out of her thoughts as she saw a girl in her peripheral vision, a girl with bright pink hair. Her eyes widened and she turned to face her.

"Jinx…" she muttered. "Why are you here?"

The pink haired girl glared at the empath, who looked away at the ground. "Mammoth asked me to thank you." She growled. "For saving him."

Raven sighed and looked back up at the girl, restraining a flinch as she met the girls eyes.

"There's no reason to thank me-"

"Damn right there isn't, you almost killed him. I wouldn't be surprised if you _have _killed anyone." She scowled at the girl, remembering her pains, remembering his. "Do you even know what it felt like?

Raven closed her eyes, trying to suffocate fury that slowly and steadily ate away at her composed manner.

DO YOU!"

Raven felt something boil in the pit of her stomach, felt it creep into her chest, felt her heart pound. She had saved the girl, she had saved both of them. Her response burned in her chest. She knew _exactly_ what it felt like. Her lips curved down and her lids fell to a glare as she looked back up at the girl, filled with anger. "YES! I know _exactly _how it felt!"

Jinx's eyes widened and she took a step back, the girls voice still had to power to instill fear into her.

"You think I haven't experienced pain?" Raven's thoughts raced with pictures of her past, screaming in her head.

"Maybe I should show you what I FUCKING went through!" She felt rage claw its way to the surface, slowly fill her with hatred, slowly devour her revulsion at causing pain on others when she felt-when she _knew_ they deserved it!

Jinx took a step back, her eyes wide in fear. In the other girls eye she could see so much anguish , so much malice.

_What am I saying…_ Ravens' anger dissipated as she observed the other girls reaction. She was afraid, deathly afraid… of her.

_What am I doing?_

She took a deep breath and looked back at the ground.

Jinx was still terrified, even after _she _had provoked the other girl, to her it seemed she had not. Livid anger grew and overpowered her fear.

She then made the biggest mistake of her life.

"MURDERER!"

The empath snapped.

Jinx was ripped from the ground, a hand tightly wrapped around her neck, hanging her in the air, deep violet eyes glaring daggers into her very soul.

"Yes, I am a murderer."

Her pupils shrank.

"I killed my father!"

The thief felt her heart skip a beat.

"I tore that bastard apart!"

Her body went numb.

"Do you know why?" her voice lowered, calm, composed.

_Mistake number two:_

"… n… o" she gasped through the vice.

Jinx felt sheer horror tear away at her as she saw a sadistic smile form on the other girls face.

Then the world faded away, spinning into an unbearable darkness. Just as suddenly as it vanished, it rapidly came into focus, she could see someone.

A person.

A person with dark blue hair.

Amidst the flames was a girl, bound in chains, nailed to the jagged rock beneath her feet.

Jinx could see it, she could see it all to clearly.

She tried to cover her ears as the girl loosed an agonized scream.

She tried to close her eyes as she helplessly watched the girls very skin ripped from her flesh, as she watched her blood color the ground, watched it litter the stone.

She tried to look away as she was set ablaze.

She tried to scream, shout, order it to stop, command the gut wrenching scene to stop.

Her voice went unheard.

She wretched at the images, clutching her stomach as she felt unbearable nausea in the pit of her stomach, as she was forced to hear the other girls' torture, forced to watch.

When she felt she could take no more, when she prayed death save her, she was back in the streets, still in the grasp of the other girl, her heart pounding in her chest, her breaths short and shallow.

"He got what he fucking deserved, and I have never ONCE regretted what I did!" she snarled at the girl.

She felt the words ring in her ears, shake her to the core. She was released and dropped to the ground, falling to her knees. She stared at the ground and gasped in deep breaths, filling her lungs, hoping to rid herself of the vile nausea that ran rapid inside her.

Raven took a step back, her eyes wide.

…_What have I done…_

She looked down at the kneeling girl, watched her chest rapidly expand in her shirt, watched her hands clasp the pavement, watched her shoulders quiver,

Watched her tears fall to the ground.

_What the fuck have I done?_

As much as she would have liked to walk away from the pathetic scene before her, as much as she would like to be completely apathetic to the situation, she couldn't, and she wasn't.

This wasn't some nameless, faceless person crying in the streets.

It wasn't a stranger

And it wasn't anyone's fault but her own.

It was _all_ her fault.

"Jinx."

The tears continued to fall.

"…Jinx…" She muttered.

The empath kneeled on the ground, facing the other girl. She made no attempt to move the other girl, after all… that was something another her was known to do, the last thing she wanted was to injure the girl further.

"…jinx…"

"…it hurts…" she whispered, her head still facing the ground.

The girl inhaled sharply and curled further into herself, wrapping her arms around her shoulders.

"Why… does it hurt so much..." She murmured.

Ravens' eyes widened and she opened her mouth to speak.

"Please… make it stop… please…"

The empath shut her mouth and looked to the side, her eyes glazed over. She could feel in the other girls heart, where she wanted to go, what would help her the most… she wanted to go home.

She now noticed the crowd they had drawn, people giving them curious stares, complete strangers all focused on them.

She gave them each a bone chilling glare.

The empath commanded the shadows around her to come, they pooled around her, spinning inwards in a gyre. She and the girl sunk into the blackness, and were covered by it.

And they were gone.

"Jinx…" she said to the girl, who was still crouched over, now sitting on her bed.

Raven sighed, and got to her feet. "… I should go..."

She turned and started to the door.

"No!"

The empath stopped, a look of surprise on her face, she turned around to face the girl.

The pink haired girl was looking at her, her eyes red and tears running down her cheeks. "Please… don't leave me alone…"

"I… uhm…" she turned on her heels.

_You heard her, master, she wants us to stay._

She angrily looked to the side. _That doesn't mean anything, she just can't think straight. _

_Oh really? You know that isn't the truth, you can read minds after all._

_Knowledge must be rubbing off on you. _She thought dryly.

_You make it sound so naughty, mistress._

… _why are you here?_

"Please… stay…" the girl said from her room.

_To act as your humble guide of course._

"I…"

_and just what the hell is that supposed to mean?_

"… I"

_Really, it seems I must spell it out for you._

"… I…" she looked to the side. "… I can't" the titan started for the door, stuck in her thoughts, she couldn't hear the footsteps rapidly approaching her.

_You want her._

Raven froze as she felt arms loosely wrap around her waist.

_No, __**you **__want her._

"Please… don't leave me alone…" the pink haired girl said into the other girls back.

_What am I but a part of you?_

"…" the empath opened her mouth to speak… she was at a loss for words.

_Hmm, should I call you "Lus'ledge"_

_Cute, mistress, I got a pep talk from her, yes, after some… "encouragement"_

"I can't… I just can't…"

the voice continued. _Regardless of what happened, you will stay, or I will make you._

The girls embrace tightened. "… please…"

_You are in no position to tell me what to do, lust._

"Jinx…"

_It is far from an empty threat, mistress. We __**will **__get what we want, and you __**will**__ get it for us. Or… I will take it. What will it be, raven?_

"-jinx, I…"

… _what will you do?_

"-please… don't leave me…" she said between sobs.

_Only one way to find out, master._

"I… " she looked at the carpet beneath her feet and sighed. "I'll stay."

After some… "encouragement", from lust, the girls had curled up on the thief's twin size bed, they were tightly packed to say the least.

Raven relaxed as the girl fell into a peaceful sleep, as the tears streaming from her eyes ceased falling, as her breathing slowed.

And she smiled.

Sure, she was apprehensive at first, hell, she still was, but it was nice to see that she could help someone so much… just by being there. It was comforting, to see that her past may really be behind her.

That maybe… she could escape it.

_Are you happy with this?_

She frowned. _Lust_…

_What are you talking about, lust?_

_Are you content to leave this as it is?_

_Not getting any clearer._

_look at her, mistress, can you truthfully say you're happy with this?_

The empath looked at the sleeping girl, a content look was on her face, a faint smile on her lips.

_This is nothing, it never was._

_Really? Well… _

Her body went limp, and her eyes wide.

_What in the __**hell**__ did you do?_

_Now now, is that tone really necessary? _

_Get out of my head! _She shouted.

_Calm down, master, I would never hurt her. _Raven smirked and reached out a hand, caressing the sleeping girls cheek.

_Now, can you honestly say you feel nothing for her?_

She slid her hand down and gently touched the girls lips.

_Well?_

Raven repeatedly prayed sweet _merciful _god that the thief didn't wake up, she didn't want to ruin what she had just accomplished.

…_Yes_

_wrong answer. _Raven leered, she traced her hand down the girls neck, down her back, over her hips, she stopped at her thighs and leaned in towards the girl, her eyes slightly closing.

_STOP! Lust… stop._

_Then answer the question, master._

… _no, I… I can't honestly say I feel nothing for her._

_Very good, master._

The girl regained control of her body. She shut her eyes and took a deep breath, ridding herself of her frustrations. She looked back down at the girl, and blushed as she quickly removed her hand from the girls rear.

She took another deep breath and looked at the girl once again.

… _what do I feel… for you…_

She cautiously reached out a hand and caressed the girls cheek.

_She is… pretty._

Her glance slid down the girls lean figure, which was fairly visible in her current wardrobe. Tight shirts and miniskirts never were concealing.

… _but_

She sighed.

_It can never happen._

She knew nothing would ever happen between them. Even if the girl had wanted her there, even if she had known that it was the truth,

Truth is a relative term, as is everything.

Who's to say when she awakes, that she wouldn't shout, scream at her to get out? Enraged by her presence, furious that she was taken advantage of, Infuriated at what the other girl had done to her back on the Go city streets.

It would break her, should what she suspected to happen occur.

Seventeen years of experience all told her, people never change, people never accept,

People will never love you.

Fear of being proven right, perhaps even of being proven wrong, it shook her to the bone.

No matter what she did, it would eat away at her, whether or not the other girl harbored feelings for her, until found out it would _kill _her.

As well as taking the risk to ask the question, that one, damn question.

_Do you like me?_

There was a choice playing over in her head.

Ask? Or not.

Every fiber of her being was indecisive, everything was neutral, everything was convinced,

_It didn't matter either way._

But it did, it mattered so much to the girl, Even if she would never admit it to herself.

All she needed was a push, just a single voice, a single, confident voice, to instruct her, to sway her, to make a choice- the right choice.

Her mind was silent in mutual apathy, none of her cared, yet somehow… she did.

_How?_

_Why?_

Truth be told, she couldn't decide.

She firmly shut her eyes and summoned the shadows around her, constricted, pulled into the portal, leaving the girl to sleep.

Leaving her to think.

Was that her choice?

… She didn't know.

**Chapter 5: Apology**

**Wake**

**Chapter 5:**

Jinx was sprawled out on her bed, still in a blissful state of sleep, and still unaware that she was now alone. However, all good things must come to an end, and her eyes blinked lazily open, curious as to why it had suddenly gotten darker.

She sat up and looked around her room, confused as to _when_ exactly she had gotten there, the last thing she remembered was visiting her friend at the hospital.

Speaking of which, she wasn't exactly sure what would happen when he was healed.

Her eyes widened as she remembered what had happened, between her and the titan. She shut her mouth and fell back onto the bed.

… _I'm such a douche-bag…_

She recalled so clearly what she had said to the other girl, something she would normally never say.

And she remembered the girls reaction, something she had never expected.

To be proven wrong.

Not just a _hint _of wrong, not just a _smidgen_ of wrong, a whole, big-ass, nuclear bomb sized _screw_ up.

She felt something she wasn't used to feeling, something she couldn't afford to.

She felt guilty.

She, a thief, felt guilty. She could _not _allow remorse in her life, she was a _thief_, she had _never_ felt anything when she stole, hell, she stole candy from a baby on a bet.

She grinned as she remembered the day, the day she got ten bucks richer.

But this was different.

She didn't steal a physical, tangible thing, she couldn't toss in her literal two cents and repair what she had broken.

And she knew if she wanted the emptiness in her heart to fill out, much like she desired for her chest, she would have to do something about it.

And there was the wall.

She was a tomboy, having grown up around giant, sweaty males, and having surfed the metaphorical sea of testosterone-As well as her lifelong best friend having about as much empathy as a rock. She was essentially… retarded, when it came to emotions.

And she knew it.

So what in the _hell_ could she do?

Sure, she _knew _she had hurt the other girl, and considered that a step towards her "rehabilitation", however, simply _knowing _she caused a problem wouldn't help her resolve it.

The pink haired girl briefly thought she could go out, find the girl, and wing it. But tossed the idea as she remembered the last time she had done that.

There were scars, emotional and physical.

Mostly physical.

She was back where she started.

_What the hell can I do?_

_chocolates…?_

_With rich cliché centers?_

_A bouquet of roses?_

_Even I know neither of those are the right sentiment._

_A 'get well soon' card?_

_You're not even trying now are you._

She cursed to herself, and flopped over on her side, propping her head up on her folded arm.

_Nothing says 'sorry' like a hug._

A pause.

… _she'd kill me, wouldn't she?_

Hey, the other girl had done some… out of character things in the past week… and the thief still wasn't sure what possessed the other girl to _do _what she did.

She'd kissed her.

She had tried to repress the memories, the memories of what had happened to her.

She was essentially… molested.

But somehow they kept forcing themselves to the surface, staring her in the face, reminding her of their presence. She blushed as she remembered the feeling, the wonderful feeling.

Though the kiss had been unimaginably soft, it still felt… empty, like the other girl _was _empty.

After her previous encounter with the girl, she knew that if the empath was, she had a damn good reason.

Perhaps that was her motivation as well, to find out why the other girl had done it, though she convinced herself that no matter the answer, nothing would change.

She needed a plan… she could...

...could...

watch a cheesy soap opera and steal some lines-it was _perfect!_

She grinned victoriously and rolled off her bed, and walked over to her couch, falling back onto the cushions and flinching as she landed smack in the middle of them, which was _exactly _where the diamond-like-hard part stuck out _just _enough to stab you right _between _the ass.

She groaned and scooted to her left, while prodding the remote from the carpet in front of her, sliding it close enough to pick up using both her feet as tongs.

She hit the power button and scanned through the channels till she came across "Explosion de Romancio!" she grimaced as it returned from a commercial break.

However painful it may be, she was going to stick it out… For her conscience!

She smirked as she looked down at the piece of binder paper in her lap, she reread the lines she'd sloppily scribbled in.

"_I am sorry, _**Insert Name**, _that I hurt you so. And I hope you can forgive me for _**Insert Screw Up**._" _

Her grin took on another dimension.

_It's perfect!_

Raven laid floating in a tub of steaming hot water, a content look on her face as she slowly drifting up and down, bobbing in the water. Her arms lazily wafting at her sides. She had jumped in the tub soon as she appeared in her room, and it was a good choice.

She sighed, her blue hair streaming out behind her.

Though so _physically_ relaxed, she couldn't get her mind to shut up.

She couldn't stop thinking, about the pink haired girl.

And she felt stupid for doing so, deep down, she knew nothing would ever happen between them, but she couldn't help but humor herself.

What if it did? What would happen?

_Many… pleasurable things, mistress._

_Damnit lust, leave me alone! _She snapped at it. _What the hell are you even talking about?_

_You have a tongue, use your imagination. _It said smoothly.

She frowned. _Care to tell me why you're here?_

_Impatient as always I see, I came to ask you for… a favor._

_And what would that be? _She drolled.

_Let go._

Her expression turned inquisitive. _Elaborate._

It chuckled. _I want you to let go. You needent control us. And even if you do, you obviously can't, now can you?_

_How blunt of you. _The empath mused. _You really think I can't control you?_

_Well mistress, if the past is any show of the future-_

_-When has it ever been?_

_You make a valid argument, mistress, however, __**our **__past is not a good baseline now is it?_

_This isn't __**about**__ anyone's but our own, now is it? _She thought mockingly.

_You're jumping around the main question, master._

She took a serious tone. _Just because you helped me escape that place doesn't mean you can suddenly ask for something so impulsive._

_You seem to have misinterpreted my request, mistress, I never __**asked **__you of anything, I never do._

_Oh really? _Her voice was challenging.

_Really. _

A pause.

_And what do I get in return? _She said, mildly curious.

It chuckled once again. _Same as last time, the reward is in the action itself._

It continued. _Aren't you tired of it? Always controlling yourself? Always keeping us in check?_

_Wouldn't you like to just cut loose? To just let go, to just stop caring,_

_imagine, imagine how good it would feel._

_Don't you want to try it?_

_No. _The empath thought flatly.

_Again, I believe you misunderstood me. I was not __**asking**_

_Oh? Then make me. _She thought with a twinge of doubt.

It laughed. _No need. With time, you will see it my way, mistress. As will the others, so for now, farewell._

Raven sighed and splashed water onto her chest, she had tensed up during her conversation with her more lustful half; needless to say she was frustrated.

Lust was the equivalent of knowledge with a raging libido.

She shuddered at the thought.

She took a deep breath and sat up in the water, got to her feet, and shook off.

… _now what._

She was ultimately out of things to do for the rest of the day, she _could _read, but she had already been through all the various tomes that lined her walls. She cursed to herself as she faintly heard her communicator vibrate, and shimmy it's way off the counter she had set it on during her bath.

_I swear to god robin, if that's you…_

She snatched her towel and securely wrapped it around her body. She glanced downwards to make sure her _assets _weren't visible, part of the "burden" of busty females.

The empath took cautious steps over to the damned device, that was having a seizure on the tiled floor. She bent over, retrieved it, and purposely flipped it open so she wasn't visible –as an extra precaution-.

"Robin here." the girl twitched as the voice came over the speaker. "Hey, is anyone there?"

"Yeah, I'm here." She muttered.

"What's wrong, why aren't you on the screen?" He actually sounded concerned.

"Because I'm covering the camera, genius." She grinned; glad there was _someone _she could verbally bitch-slap.

She heard someone with a deep voice madly laugh in the background. _Oh __**snap**__, man, she got you good!_

He turned back to the screen, a frown on his face.

"What's up?" she droned.

"Well, this is about…" she raised a brow as she observed him look over his shoulder. "jinx." He cupped the phone, pitifully trying to conceal the sound from the other titans.

Her smile faded and she sighed. "… what about her?"

He sobered. "… What happened?"

She looked away from the screen, though she knew he couldn't see her. "Nothing happened."

He exhaled. "Look, Raven, we're both part of a team, if this is anything that could put any of us in danger, I need you to _fix _it, We can't afford to let something like this happen, do y-"

"-You're overreacting."

He stopped and sighed. "… are you sure?" He'd had experience with the empath, typically when she avoided a topic, there _was _a reason, and he knew better than to pry information from her.

He shivered as he remembered the last time he'd tried, and ended up ruffling through her room.

He woke up to find himself in china, attracting many curious stares from the natives, and getting his picture taken by eccentric tourists, a note was taped to his face, as well as five separate Chinese finger traps binding his hands together. The note read…

_Good luck getting back._

He focused back on the screen.

"Yes father." She drolled and flipped the phone shut. She opened the door and tossed the device onto her bed, following after it, she waltzed to her closet.

She was naked save a towel after all.

Jinx strolled down the Go city streets, her arms lazily swinging at her sides, her eyes and legs not concerned with where the rest of her ended up, she could find her way back anyhow.

Problem one, what to say, solved.

Problem two, how and where to say it, not… solved.

She absent mindedly glanced around at the scenery, still occupied with _how _to apologize to the girl, when she would essentially be mauled and sent to jail on sight.

She could leave a letter, but that seemed to impersonal to the girl, a smart move on her part… at least she thought, she was proud of herself for making that decision, the "old" her would've left a message on the girl's phone.

She might have anyways, had she known the girls number.

But she didn't, and was currently prancing down the streets, attracting unheeded stares of passersby's.

She ran through the possible methods,

_Steal something… not a good idea, I'd probably get the whole team._

_Go to the tower… same problem…_

_Uhhmmm… … … _Her mind went silent, her expression matched her mind.

… _I could…_

_Go to the tower, and only get raven… how?..._

She stopped her walk and clutched her head, hoping to squeeze an idea into herself.

_Think, think, _she racked her brain, hoping to miraculously have an epiphany.

Her eyes went wide as she had the most brilliant and perhaps ridiculous idea of her entire life.

"I'm Genius!"

"What do you believe it is, friends?" the tamaranian asked, prodding an enormous box that was stationed in the middle of the TV room.

"Dunno… Cy?" the green boy looked up at the other teen, who promptly shrugged.

Robin was just as interested as the others, the empath had _never _gotten mail, then suddenly she gets some hundred pound box hauled there by the U.P.S. As much as he wanted to tear the damned thing open, he knew better than to do so, the Chinese airport still rang fresh in his mind.

"Well, what-E-ver it is, it's not for us." His voice cracked mid sentence, his curiosity was starting to affect his brain.

"Dude, don't you wanna' know? I mean look at it!" the shapeshifter pointed accusingly with both hands at the massive box on the floor.

"It has fucking AIR HOLES for gods' sake!" the boy resisted the urge to shove a finger in the box, if it was for _her, _he might loose a limb.

"Chill out man, probably just an accidental poke." Cyborg stabbed at the air to illustrate his point.

The green boy frowned up at the teen, who was broadly grinning down at him. "It weighs like a hundred pounds!"

Silence.

"Whatever it is, It's n-O-t for us." His voice cracked once again. "So we c-A-n't open it."

The green boy grinned slyly. "Can't _open_ it huh?"

He morphed into a gorilla and heaved the box onto his shoulder, pimp walking his way to his room.

"What are you doing, friend beast boy?" the alien asked. "We were told not to open it."

He stopped and tossed the box to the ground, he turned and shifted back to human form.

"I'm not gonna' open it, I'm just gonna try and guess."

Robin eyed him, he knew better than to believe the shapeshifter. "Promise?"

"Sure." She waved the boy off and resumed his trek up the stairs, once again a gorilla with the box resting on his shoulder.

The boy wonder would have pursued him, but he remembered he had something to ask the empath, rather, something to talk about. He pulled out his communicator and dialed the dark titan, who he sincerely hoped picked up, it was important,

It was about jinx.

Beast boy sat, rather, hung in his room, scratching his head with his foot, and clutching a hanging light with his other.

He had no idea what the hell was in the box, though if he put his ear against it he swore he could hear something breathing.

After shaking the box, only do discover a 'fragile' warning, had gently placed it back on the ground, only to discover a 'this side down" warning. He'd laughed nervously to himself and flipped the box over, finally resting it on the ground.

He would've peeked through the few holes in the box, but his fear of losing precious depth perception swayed his decision.

He also would have gone ant and crawled in, that however, was looped in with the same group as peeking.

He thought about looking from a distance, and putting a flashlight to one of the "air holes", but he was paranoid that it was sensitive to light, and would go into an enraged fury and castrate him.

Either that, or a highly explosive _and_ light sensitive chemical that would ultimately have the same effect as the neutering monster.

Bye bye little green children.

He rather wisely chose to try _nothing_,

Leaving him in his current situation, monkey form, freely swinging from a hanging light attached to the ceiling, scratching his head with his 'monkeh' toe-fingers.

He loosed a banshee shriek as the curiosity boiling in his now _smaller _brain threatened to spontaneously combust.

He swung from his perch and shifted to human form in mid air, rather gracefully landing on his feet.

He shook out his limbs, took a deep breath, and walked out of his room, preparing to tell the girl she had a package, 'cause god knows he was curious, and the only way for him _not_ to die in the process of uncovering this alluring mystery was to have _her, _the intended patron,open it.

Jinx fought not to explode out of the box and beat the shit out of whoever kept shaking her box. She took deep, quiet breaths. She nearly shouted as something screeched, but caught her mouth before she could loose the _beast_. She victoriously smiled, her 'pissed off-ness' forgotten, as she heard whoever was in the room leave, and slam the door behind them.

She crouched on her knees and sprung upwards, noisily tearing the box open. She took a deep breath and leaned back, stretching. It was verysmall _inside_ that box, and she was starting to cramp up.

She exhaled her breath and looked curiously around, just realizing where she was,

Rather, that she had no idea where she was.

She silently cursed at herself for not looking into her current situation.

It seemed she always forgot the smallest detail.

But this was no _small _detail, this was a jumbo, "Ohhh, _im_plosion" sized detail.

Needless to say she didn't care

She was a thief after all, she had to enjoy what she did, otherwise she wouldn't do it, she could _easily _pull off another "job", but that wouldn't be nearly as fun as this would be.

And god, was this going to be fun.

She would traverse the tower, avoid the titans, and find ravens room.

Her life was an epic adventure.

She was so happy she could shit.

The girl shrugged and padded over to the door and pressed her ear against it, listening to hear if anyone was anywhere near outside.

However, she was unaware that the doors were soundproof.

And therefore, opened the door to see robin and the tamaranian engaged in a rather heated make-out session.

"HOLY SHIT! You guys are dating?" she bellowed at the pair.

Robin inhaled the girls face, and jinx, aware that she had just shouted at who she was trying to _avoid_, immediately shut the door.

The boy wonder Heimlich'ed up the alien, who glided over to the door. She went to knock on it, but her hand was gently caught by a now somewhat composed robin.

He gravely shook his head and pulled the girl away from the scene, partly because he was embarrassed, but mostly because he knew better than try to talk to the 'green boy' after they'd just mauled his innocence.

Jinx waited a few minutes and sighed as she opened the door, relieved to find no one there.

She quietly thanked her various gods and cautiously padded out of the boys room, a grin on her face.

She looked left and right, and grimaced as she saw a door in the distance with a name engraved on it, with her superior vision she vaguely make out 'Raven'.

She withheld a groan and stalked over to the door, grinning as she got closer.

It had actually said _Robin, _not Raven.

She had to admit, they did look similar from far away. She took a quick look behind her back before continuing. The thief assumed that since both rooms she'd seen so far were connected by the same hallway, she continued in the semicircle, quickly ducking behind a decorative plant as 'stone' hauled serious ass past her. She gave the plant a quick pat before continuing onwards, her eye twitched as she reached the end of the hall, separated by the kitchen, the other half was on the other side.

She would have to sneak past what was essentially a four way intersection.

Her other eye twitched as she crouched to the ground and peeked around the corner.

She could make out two heads on a couch, both of which were aimed at a giant flatscreen.

She chucked silently to herself as she recognized them, the 'love birds'. She would have taunted them had her presence not been.. well, a secret. She would make up for lost time later, _now_ she had a mission to complete.

She was about to take a light step into the kitchen, but hastily retreated as another titan walked into the room.

Well, another thing walked into the room.

Well, a monkey.

A green monkey.

She curiously eyed it from her perch, flat on the ground, as it gained speed, it loosed a familiar banshee shriek and jumped on the boy wonders head, who promptly spazzed a rather feminine scream.

Beast Boy turned human, now sitting on the boys head, and laughed madly, ignoring the suppository like glare he was receiving from his seat.

The shapeshifter fell backwards off the boy and landed behind the couch on his feet, his laughter dying down, he opened his mouth.

"You guys seen Raven?"

Robin turned to the boy a sheepish expression on his face, he remembered the encounter "they" had just had a few minutes previous.

"I-uh-she's in her room" he spit out quickly. "Why?"

"Cause I wan'er to open the box thing, and she's not in there."

Starfire got a look at robins' face, and chipped in. "Have you not checked the roof?"

The boy snapped his fingers. "Of course!" he sprinted down the hall to the elevator, while screaming his thanks to the alien girl. "THANKS STAR!"

She quietly sighed as the boy shrunk into the distance, then cursed at herself as she realized he would have to turn _around_ to use the elevator. She madly looked around in a frenzy, hoping to find something to hide behind, in, with, anything really.

The gods answered her prayer as she flung open a closet door and stepped inside, quietly closing it _most _of the way behind her.

She heard a muffled voice through the wooden door.

_Hey, what floor's it on?_

_The roof, gar._

She exhaled as she heard the ding of the elevator going the _hell _up. The thief opened the door _exactly _the size required for her to barely make it out, she morphed through the opening and tiptoed her way to the other side of the hall, grinning as she saw another door in the distance, and this time, she knew it said 'Raven'. Sure, she now knew the girl wasn't in her room, however, she could wait there, and would be guaranteed that _only _the girl would meet her.

The pink haired girl bolted to the door and flung it open.

Or at least tried to.

The damned thing wouldn't open. She heard the 'dings' of the elevator returning from the roof and strained against the door, heaving with all her hard to properly distribute might. She would've put her foot on the wall and pried it open, however, there was no convenient, 'sticks out of the wall' border to use, there weren't even hinges.

… or a handle.

All of which were making it very difficult to open.

Just a smooth, metal slab, sticking out of the wall like a giant retractable tooth.

The only reason she could even _try_ was because of her very grippy gloves, though they weren't doing much good.

She swore to herself, the other door had opened easily, why wouldn't this one?

She was surrounded by shadows and flung to the ceiling as the elevator doors opened, and out walked Raven, and out ran Beast Boy.

"COME ON RAVEN, MOVE!" he shouted as he bolted down the room, still in human form. The suspense had made him forget he could run faster in another form, also that even if he ran fast, it would only get opened as quickly as the other girl got there.

He took down the hall, passing _directly _under the girl who was plastered to the ceiling. Several moments later, the empath passed under the girl, dragging her along the ceiling with her.

_Tell my why I shouldn't have you arrested._ The thief heard a voice in her head, she opened her mouth to speak, but stopped as she felt a shadow clamp over it.

_**Think **__it, don't say it._

The girl muttered something into her bindings before _thinking._

_I need to tell you something._

_I'll humor you, what?_

_I… _

Her mind wandered back to her binder paper apology, which she had _thought _she'd memorized, she had only read it like, a zillion times. And yet…

_SHIT!_

She cursed to herself. She… she had to wing it.

_I…_

_I'm sorry…_

… _that…_

_That I…_

_That I said what I said…_

… _I had no idea…_

… _that something like that happened to you…_

Raven tilted her head up slightly. Had she just apologized? Sure, she'd said terrible things, but it was the empath who inflicted emotional scars on the girl.

She sighed and continued the trek to the boys room, though she knew it was for no reason.

_You don't need to apologize, it was my fault, and-_

_NO! _She mentally shouted. _It wasn't your fault, it was mine. Now could you let me down so we can talk like human beings?_

**Chapter 6: Change**

**Wake**

The conflict is _always _internal, however, it tends to show.

Though in different ways…

It _always _shows.

How do you hide it?

_End _it.

**Chapter 6:**

_NO! _She mentally shouted. _It wasn't your fault, it was mine. Now could you let me down so we can talk like human beings?_

The empath maintained a calm composed voice, though it was not how she was feeling.

_No, not yet._

The ceiling bound girl glared down at the floor, finding her eyes even unable to move.

_You __**do **__realize that they'll see me, don't you?_

Raven chuckled to herself as her initial surprise at the other girl melted away.

_No, they wont. We'll talk later._

_LATER? What the hell am I… supposed… to do…_

There was a slight static as their mental connection cut off, the thief twitched as best she could through the shadows as they both continued onwards, not flinching in the slightest when a shriek resonated down the hall. The empath smirked as the green boy made a mad dash out of his room, a fair distance away from her, she could make out his expression.

"!" he bellowed at the girl, oblivious to her expression, and still so caught up in the moment that he didn't notice the writhing shadows above his head.

So much for animal instinct.

The empath composed some quick thoughts.

_Jinx was there, so was a box or something._

She connected the dots and leered at the boy, far be it from her to pass up an opportunity.

"Oh my, they got out?" she said in mock concern, though the other boy was in to much shock to notice the palpable sarcasm that lined the girls words.

"Well, now what am I to do?"

She rolled her eyes to the side, the smirk ever present.

"I suppose I'll have to order more giant man-eating tarantulas… "

Word could not describe the sheer horror on the boys face. He was so shocked he was unable to talk.

It was common knowledge of the boys irrational fear of spiders, which was strange, considering he could turn into one.

Hell, the "giant man-eating tarantula" didn't even exist. She was actually surprised that the shape-shifter didn't realize it, considering he had knowledge of the entire animal kingdom.

Necessary knowledge for the boy, he had to picture the animal to turn into it, and had to know what the animal could do. Strengths, weaknesses.

Otherwise, he'd turn into a shark and suffocate on land.

A move the empath was confident would happen to the air-headed boy, had he not taken immense time out of his life to study.

He even had a prescription to "Anamilia Monthly". She vaguely recalled him loosing a girly shriek at the spider issue, which had sprung out of the box and latched onto his face.

She smiled inwardly at the memory, almost proud of herself.

The empath mock sighed, "Well, check your room before you sleep, they work in packs."

She almost cracked a smile at the look on the other boys face.

_Priceless…_

She put the cherry on top. "And watch out for the stingers"

She waved nonchalantly at the scared stiff boy, and turned on her heels, starting back to her room. She opted to re open the mental connection with the girl, who was basically screaming in her head, the empath was confused, usually when she _wasn't _trying to tune into others thoughts, they were simply muffled, still comprehensible, though whispered. However, _now_ it was white noise, _loud _white noise.

She flinched slightly at the laughter that suddenly rang in her mind. She looked up at the ceiling.

The thief was in fits, she looked like she'd pass out. Her face was bright red, even more so considering her usual pale complexion. The empath could see through her jet black shadows a toothy smile that threatened to rip the pink haired girls face apart.

_Well mistress, I think she likes you._

The empath ignored the voice and looked back in front of her, she was approaching her door.

The thief dropped from the ceiling like a dead weight, contacting the floor with a rather dull thump. She quickly got to her feet, clutching her sides, still laughing too much to care.

She hyperventilated some quick breaths, composed herself, and looked up at the empath, who was patiently waiting for her.

The empath raised a brow. "Was it that funny?"

The girl snorted in a rather unladylike fashion. "Yeah."

The thief opened her mouth to speak, but promptly closed it as the titan place a hand on the door and slid it open.

Slit it open… _up._

She squinted at the door, how in the hell did it do that? Did hell suddenly freeze over and they were suddenly on 'starship galactia'?

"Your door… opens up?" she vocally twitched. No wonder the door didn't open, she was pulling the wrong way, but honestly, who would try _up_?

"It opens in _every_ direction, I just change which one."

"… how?" she said, genuinely curious.

The empath changed the subject. "You needed to talk to me"

"Oh." She opened her mouth once again to speak, but frowned. "We already did."

"… what?" she gave an incredulous look at the other girl.

"I already said what I came here for." She said matter-o-factly.

"Let me get this straight… _you _came _here _in a box, _just_ so you could apologize?" she drolled.

"Pretty much."

"uhhmm-" she stopped mid groan as she felt a titan approach them. She grabbed the other girl and roughly forced her into her room, the door slammed down behind her, not making a sound.

She grimaced as Cyborg turned the corner and sprinted down the hall towards her. The hulking teen came to a abrupt halt front of her. He firmly grabbed her shoulders.

"YOU LOOSED RABID SPIDERS ON US?" he bellowed.

"No." she said flatly. The empath pried the hands off her and receded to her room, fading right through the door.

Cyborg looked at the door then started back down the hall, arms loosely swinging as his sides.

"Phew."

Raven phased through the door to a strange sight, it seemed the thief had made herself at home, and was aimlessly rifling through the empath's bookshelf, looking for what looked like nothing in particular.

"Any reason you're looking through my belongings?"

"No, not really." The thief said flatly.

"You do realize I could have you arrested, don't you?" she reminded the other girl.

_Perhaps, but you wont, will you._

Both girls heard the voice, Raven, who wasused to it, ignored it. However, the thief took a step back, her eyes wide in fear.

She'd heard that voice several times before. That deep, dripping voice.

The empath gave the frightened girl a curious look, unsure of exactly why she had backed away.

"Jinx?"

The girl backed further, bumping into one of the empath's massive bookshelves.

_It seems we've scared her, mistress._ The voice echoed through both girls minds.

Jinx felt her legs wobble and fell to her knees on the thick blue carpet, she feebly attempted to push herself further away from the girl as she felt overwhelming fear smother her senses.

Raven caught on. _What did you do, lust?_

_Oh nothing, master. We were just having a little… talk._

The thief sat helplessly as the casual conversation between two voices, one of which instilled intense fear into her very soul, played out in her head.

_Damnit lust! Stay away from her!_

_Really mistress. _It said condescendingly, _to think that I would cause her any harm, haven't we been over this before?_

_That's not the point, _She spared a rueful look at the girl, she could feel the cold blooded fear in her heart, and she knew that somehow, it was her fault.

It seemed it was always her fault.

_Can't you see you're scaring her? _She muttered in her head.

_No, __**we **__are scaring her, and you know it, don't you?_

… _yes._

The voice chuckled. _Admission is the first step, mistress. _It faded back into nothingness, leaving raven and the thief awkwardly placed in the empath's room, the pink haired girl making a mad attempt to scratch her way through the drywall, and the titan considering how to remedy the situation that had rapidly changed tones, all thanks to a single desire- a single, goddamn desire.

_Jinx…_

"Jinx… are you ok?"

She took a cautious step towards the girl, after receiving no response, she closed the distance between them and crouched down to her knees, looking deeply into bright pink eyes.

"Jinx…" she slowly extended a hand and cupped the other girls cheek, her gaze never moving from the girl.

"She wont hurt you… I promise…"

"I'm sorry…" the pink haired girl snapped out of her trance and looked down at the floor, her eyes closing.

"I'm sorry… that I'm so… weak…"

The empath could feel the fear slowly ebbing away. However, something else remained in its wake, resonating in steady tides,

Shame.

The titan was confused, why would the girl feel shame? She had not done anything to be ashamed _of_…

Besides… it was not her fault.

Fear is a reflex, the bodies' way of saying "Hey dumbass, get the fuck out!", The loud, obnoxious noise can not be silenced, can not be controlled, the only thing that makes it ignorable is the volume.

the empath had essentially given the voice a megaphone…

It was her fault.

"You're not wea-"

"Yes… I am…" she muttered, "To get so scared from just a voice in my head… wasn't even real…"

"… I must look pathetic…"

Raven went to speak,

_Now is your chance, mistress._

She shut her mouth, giving a quick glance to the girl, who seemed unaffected, she put a hand on the pink haired girls shoulder and returned to her thoughts.

_For what?..._

_Must I spell it out once again? Earn her trust, master._

_Lust… that seems a bit different from your usual methods…_

_I believe it was you who first said, "Different times call for different measures", or don't you remember?_

_How could I forget my escape._

_**Our **__escape, and I believe we've gone off topic, comfort her, and we may both get what we desire, mistress._

_Well?_

The voice once again faded, Raven shot the girl a look, who was still preoccupied with the floor in front of her. The empath sighed inwardly and leaned her own head forward, gently tapping against the other girls'.

"… You aren't weak…"

"and…" she whispered, barely audible, "The voice is real… I heard it too…"

She continued after a pause, "it… it scares me too… " she awkwardly wrapped her arms around the other girl, pulling her into a loose embrace, "…even after all this time, it still scares me…"

She smiled contently as she felt the girl physically relax in her arms and return the embrace,

she continued.

"It's ok… to be afraid…"

"Raven" the pink haired girl murmured, "Why are you being so nice to me?..." The tone of her voice dropped to a low, "… why?…" She sounded almost apprehensive, as though she didn't want to know the answer to the very question she had in all honesty asked.

The empath tightened her hold on the girl as she felt thoughts run through the other girls mind, all to vivid thoughts…

They reminded her of herself,

The thiefs' past was much like her own, she had never been loved, she had always been hated, mistreated,

And she was used to it.

It was a terrible thing, to grow accustomed to the sadness that stalked her through life, her own life. It was something someone so young should never be exposed to, something god in heaven should have prevented,

Where the hell was god now?

Eighteen years into life and already, death is the ultimate goal, death is the light at the end of the tunnel… something too drear for such a premature age.

Though she wasn't surprised, growing up like she had, suffering was a common sight to behold, one she had been destined to throw in a haze upon the world. One she had fought tooth and nail to prevent…

Holding someone so much like herself in her arms, it was a strange thing, the titan rolled her eyes up and looked at the other girl, the other girl who reminded her so much of herself.

And she came to a decision, a strong, definite decision. One she could firmly agree on,

She would help the other girl, not for her own gains, for her own conscience, even for her emotions,

But for the girl who needed a happy memory, a singly happy moment in the hellhole she'd long since been trapped in from the very moment she was born into that cruel, un-accepting world.

So she did something she wasn't used to,

She listened to her emotions,

"…Because… " her voice lowered to a murmur, "…I want to be…" She gently rubbed the other girls back with her hands and pulled the girl closer, she could feel the despair, the pain, the shame all evaporating.

Until none was left.

Jinx sighed as her rapid heartbeats slowed to a steady pace, she leaned back away from the girl and looked to her side, unsure of how to ask for what she desired.

"I don't suppose…"

"Hmmm?" the titan grunted quietly

"… that you could take me home?..."

Raven looked at the girl with the best smile she could manage, a faint one. Her arms fell to her sides and the pools of shadows around them were sucked towards the girls.

"sure."

"… Are you going to be alright?..." raven said to the girl who was sprawled out on her bed, obviously in need of a cat nap after the incident with the other girl at the tower, as well as the teleportation being something she wasn't used to.

The thief sat up with a groan on her couch, planting her face in her hands when she felt the room spin.

"… yeah…"

The titan turned to leave, she began to summon the shadows around her, however, stopped as she felt a pair of arms wrap around her waist.

"… thanks for caring…"

The empath was uncomfortable… rather, she would have liked to be. 'hugs' were something she never really got used to, something she never gave a chance.

With her upbringing, what use is contact with another person, when all they will bring you is possible contamination, the scourges and vermin and filth of the earth were not worthy of her touch, and they didn't deserve it, at least, the bulk of them.

But this was different, she felt so warm at the contact with the other girl, she could feel in her heart, the sheer sincerity of the gesture, it was something she rarely experienced,

Someone being genuinely grateful.

This could be caused by the fact that her attempts to actually help others was quite rare. Sure, she was a titan, she saved the city from villains. But… whenever she helped, whenever she tried, someone got hurt.

That was why she became a titan in the first place, she could help _by _hurting, in a way that it was acceptable to cause damage in the process. It was a way to give back to the people… the people who had given her nothing but pain and hatred.

She was a living contradiction.

And she was fine with that, the titan was willing to sacrifice her notions of people being unworthy of her assistance, all for the better good.

To stray from her father, and she had… and she was.

To think… that so little a quirk could be explained by so many reasons,

All of which were valid.

However, she was smiling through the internal conflict.

It felt good to be appreciated.

"… welcome…" She flashed a small, reassuring smile to the girl, before returning to the teleportation.

She vanished, and left the thief splayed out on her mattress, face down, arms and legs spread wide, a content grin on her face as her steady breaths lulled her into a peaceful sleep.

Raven appeared in her room, as well as her hunger pangs. She sighed and shot a quick glare at her door, then to its left to alternate the direction it opened,

She was in a _left _mood today,

The girl trudged forwards through her distain for what she had to do, light steps met her door, she slid it open, and rather calmly stepped out after shaking off her hesitations.

She was immediately met with a green boy, who she was certain had to have been waiting outside her room. She smirked as she noticed his expression, it hadn't changed a bit.

"RAVEN!" he shouted, flustered, "YOU HAVE TO HELP ME CHECK MY ROOM!" He violently pointed behind him, in a direction he assumed was to his room.

Silence…

She frowned at him, in disbelief that he had actually believed- _still _believed that giant spiders were on the loose, he'd had plenty of time to recover remotely rational thought, well, enough to figure out that the fictitious monster was exactly that, _fake_.

And for some reason, she was pissed at his stupidity. Probably because she was even more irate on an empty stomach.

"Move, or I'll eat you." She flashed brilliant scarlet eyes at the boy, before leaving him behind, starting to the kitchen.

She arrived in the place of all things edible and glanced around, making sure she was alone. Whatever she cooked tended to… vanish, when she had her back turned, and damnit, she was hungry, she had no time to torture answers out of her fellow titans, at least at the moment.

The empath padded over to the miniscule fridge and peeled open the door, scanning its contents for anything that looked like it would taste good. Her gaze froze on a rather questionable dish, that looked as though it were completely covered in pudding…

… blue pudding, an unusual color combined with what looked like would be its texture…

Thick…

There pulsed a blue and _thick_ mass of jelly, seemingly ogling her from the plate it had latched onto like a growth.

She was no longer hungry.

She no longer liked yogurt.

And she felt an irrational hatred for that _thing _that wasmorphing around, mocking her with its very existence, its completely useless existence,

What good's food if it can't be eaten?

… if it _shouldn't _be eaten

It was like a close up of a cancer cell consuming a healthy blood cell, she watched in distaste as the plate hovered around in the center, it seemed the thing was solid enough to support itself, as well as the plate on the wire rack.

It was _no_ jelly, she doubted that even god knew what it was.

She sighed and closed the door, leaving whatever the thing was to the next person who opened the fridge, whoever that unlucky soul was.

She was once again met by the green boy, her stomach growled… perhaps she was… _hungry_…

"PLEASE RAVEN, SAVE ME FROM THE SPIDERS!" he bellowed at the girl, who sighed, wanting to get the ordeal over with.

"There are no giant man-eating tarantulas."

She grimaced at his unchanged expression, one of pure, unfounded fear.

"I made them up."

Nothing.

"They aren't real."

She thought she saw him relax, when it turned out he was scratching his ass, she wrapped it up.

"You're an idiot." She muttered and floated away from the boy, who moments later realized he was indeed, an idiot.

"…" he opened his mouth to say something to the retreating girl, but came up empty and stomped off to his room to re-assemble the belongings he had torn apart in search… or… _not _in search of giant man-eating spiders.

Why would he have _wanted _to find them? They'd eat his face off.

Raven awoke, in an unusual manner, she was… happy. The girl was filled with a delightful warmth, something that rarely happened, even more so as of recently. It had seemed all her dreams were destined to be horrible.

But that had changed after her encounter with the thief, with the girl who in all sincerity thanked her, she thought it strange to feel so great over something so miniscule.

She brushed it off and dreamily smiled as she remembered her dream, she had missed her dreams for what seemed an eternity, finally, she could catch up on her sleep.

However, at the moment, the feeling in her chest ordered her to greet the day, to get the hell out of bed and _do_… something.

She would partially obey it.

The girl dragged herself out of her bed, put on her usual uniform and cape, and padded gently out of her room, her hood hanging limply behind her head.

A faint smile graced her lips. Barely noticeable to all but the most trained eye, and luckily, her roommates were currently _not _in possession of such gifted sights.

Her mood would go unnoticed…

_Perfect._

**Chapter 7: Oaken Bound**

**Wake**

_There are two guaranteed things in life, Death, and Taxes_

**Chapter 7:**

Jinx lazily strolled down the Go city streets, her boots dully clicking against the pavement she slowly padded along, brilliant smile on her lips. She had just woken up, at three nonetheless, she had slept in, something she rarely did, not from time constraints but from simply being unable to sleep.

After tossing on her clothes, the thief had decided to visit her best friend in the hospital, needless to say she was ecstatic, the girl hadn't seen her friend in what seemed a lifetime.

It had however, been only a few days.

So there she was, waltzing down the sidewalk, slowly approaching the hospital that loomed rather small in the distance. Her jet black skirt merrily fluttered in the cool breeze, as well as her hair, which she had opted to leave down, having pink hair up in horns was a very recognizable trait, and she wasn't willing to risk being arrested- _tried _to be arrested on her way to visit her bedridden friend.

If possible, her grin widened further as she approached the doors to the place, which she flung it open with her wrist and rather patiently made her way down the hall, she was still recognizable even with her hair down, and had a visiting permit for her friend, which meant she could skip the front desk…

Thank god, because the room was insanely crowded, as she could see through the slightly transparent windows on her stroll down the hall. She approached what in her opinion was the best door in the whole place, absently humming to herself. She put on the biggest grin she could manage as she turned the corner, she focused on the man sprawled out comfortably in bed.

"So, I see you've adjusted to hospital life." She said mockingly.

"Almost." He gestured to his hand, which while was infinitely better than it was weeks ago, was still paralyzed for the time being.

She violently pointed at it, just then noticing the multitude of scars, he had after all, been wearing a hospital distributed cloak, that was rather strangely long sleeved. At the moment he was donned in his usual clothes, which had been rather kindly washed on request. "Oh my god, those are _wicked_!" She dashed to his side to get a better view of the horrendous marks, almost in awe. "So, they know when you'll get better?" She said while intently inspecting his hand, which had received the most damage, and had a red line shaped like a portion of a spider-web, a strange scar mark in hers _and _the medical staffs opinion. So was, however, the fact that he was the same age as the girl standing next to him, and was already more than seven feet tall, as well as being generally mature looking and acting… relatively speaking of course. The doctors had gone as far to ask around for his actual age, only to receive the same answer.

"Doc said about a week." He attempted to move his hand to show his point, however, the fingers simply twitched. He grinned, almost victoriously at his slight movement, it had been the first thing he'd successfully asked his hand to do.

"Well enough about me," he said, broadly grinning, "What'ch you been up to?"

"Oh, you know, drugs, clubbing, other things teens do, the usual." She responded as the boys bated expression remained unchanged.

"Nothing really, just lounging around, you know, the usual." She said, her expression unchanged as well.

He settled back down onto the king size bed the hospital had special ordered. "Doing nothing's nice right?" he continued, "I'm gonna miss this place, good food, good…uh…"

He awkwardly broke off and the pink haired girl laughed madly at him, he could be damn funny when he wasn't trying. Seconds later she took several deep breaths and resumed her casual conversation.

"Well, no offense, but I've got other things to do."

"None taken", he said with a smile, obvious he was telling the truth.

"Well, see ya!" she said at him, sprinting out the room before he could respond.

Even with the pink haired girl gone, his smile still remained.

Raven lazily strolled down the halls, though her outward expression was glaringly bland, she was –for all intensive purposes- … happy, rather content, with the day. She absently looked around her while approaching the kitchen, mildly hungry, and _mild_ was enough.

She wondered if the jelly was still in the fridge, but brushed it off.

She turned the corner and froze, a rather strange look on her face as she observed the seen before her.

It appeared that the tamaranian was consuming the _thing _she had found several days earlier, at a fairly rapid pace. At a _very _rapid pace, one which the empath was surprised the _thing _hadn't yet been completely ingested. It was as though it was replacing itself with every bite the alien took…

She wouldn't be surprised if that was the truth.

She resisted the urge to lurch as the sight and approached the tamaranian, her curiosity bested her distaste, so she asked the question.

"… star… what is that?" she muttered, however, at a high enough level for the girl to hear her through her massive bites, the girl turned around in her seat and beamed at the empath, her teeth were blue, as were her lips.

"It is food, friend raven," she beckoned to her, "Come, try it." She sounded ecstatic.

Raven felt _something _working its way up her esophagus, and rather wisely declined the offer, then walked away, all the while taking deep breaths.

Guess what she wasn't? Yes, that's right, _hungry_.

Now seeing as she was down one possible activity to drown away the remainder of the day, as well as her chest still tugging at her spine, shouting at her brain "Do something god-damnit!"

She was in no position to decline, however, she was at a loss of exactly _what _to do.

Moreover, she had no desire to actually do anything that particular sunny day.

The prospect of lounging around was _exactly _what she desired, however, not what her body did…

There was the wall.

What to do?

She'd never been one for physical activities, not from of inability of course… From fear… fear of injuring anyone should she lose focus, that was something she was not willing to risk…

At least, not yet.

She had promised herself… rather, her emotions, that she would eventually let them out, they had after all, aided in her escape. She just wasn't ready to take the chance to free them, when all that happened when the were loosed was chaos.

And she didn't _like _chaos, not around her anyhow.

Her thoughts circled the boat once again, what to do?

Sports were obviously out of the question, much to her bodies distain, it would however have to deal.

_She _didn't want to hang out with anyone that day, much like everyday. For the same damn reason.

She was afraid.

The wall loomed over her, seemingly leering at her very soul, mocking her with its very existence.

She once again ran through her options.

Sports and People, out.

Just what the hell was left? She asked herself. The prospect of reading a book ran through her mind, but was promptly ousted by her body, which seemed disgusted at the sheer thought.

The wall grew another foot.

Only non-populated options were valid to the girl, which did not leave much in Go city, which was always bustling.

Part of why she appreciated the tower so, it was guaranteed there were few people, as well as her room having a rather simple, and therefore, complex locking system.

Ahh… privacy.

It seemed the only option was a redeeming stroll down… a redeeming glide through the park.

Her body didn't agree, it wanted a walk –needed- a walk, she groaned at it, almost asking for sympathy,

Something it was fresh out of.

She sighed, and grabbed casual clothes out of her closet. She didn't after all, want to be noticed, and how conspicuous were black denim pants and a navy tee?

Not very.

How conspicuous was pale grey skin?

Not very, considering her wardrobe, she would just be chalked up as another goth chick.

Yet another victim to profiling, how quaint.

She took a deep breath and conjured up her shadows, teleporting to the most discreet place she could think of. She sunk into the pool of darkness, vanishing into its midst.

Her visitation over, jinx had opted to do… something, she was not aware of what at the moment, but that made her feel great, having no plans meant infinite possibilities

… almost infinite

So there she was, once again waltzing down the streets, almost dangerously close to the passing and most likely _speeding _cars. Seeing as she was tapping along the very edge of the pavement, such a risk was a given.

As well as fun.

Her stroll continued onwards down the sidewalk, not heading anywhere in particular, and having a fairly good sense of direction, the pink haired girl was absently glancing around at her surroundings, physically aware of the apparent danger, her mind was however, uncaring, and somewhat disinterested. It continued to tell her legs to pad along the edge, her eyes to scan around, and focus should something amazing occur.

Missing something so fantastic would taunt the girl forever, and she was not willing to miss such an opportunity, no matter how small the chances were that it should actually happen.

Her defocused state was one of the main reasons, that when she suddenly heard a shout off in the distance, she didn't flinch in the slightest, only zone _in_, turn on her heels, and dash towards it, all the while thinking to herself.

It was the goddamn MIRACLE!

There raven sat, perched on a looming oak tree. It had practically begged her to climb up it and take a seat…

Well, it had _literally _begged her to take a seat. The tree was god knows how old, it had told the empath it was also unaware of its true age, that it had been what seemed like an eternity that it had found someone it was able to talk to.

She faintly smiled as the numerous leaves around her rustled in the breeze, as the sun flowed through the canopy in patchy blotches of light and warmth. It was the best she could have hoped for.

The best they could have both hoped for.

She was lost in conversation, having a rather meaningless give and take with the tree. It was after all, practically as old as dirt. It'd had forever to get everything figured out. What it really wanted was some company.

And damnit, it was funny.

She almost laughed at one of its jokes.

In the fairly short amount of time they had been aware of each other they had become… friends, good ones at that. They shared much in common.

They were both old beyond measure, one in a more abstract sense, but old nonetheless.

They both shared the rather dry sense of humor, and both found each other hilarious.

She had recounted her… almost, pranks on the shapeshifter. The tree had laughed, well, it was voiceless. Telepathy was a higher form of communication. She could comprehend what would seem like others should they hear it, wind. And it could understand her, though she had to vocally speak to it, and was relieved that she didn't have to speak in its native tongue to converse.

They formed a tight bond between them in a matter of hours, something unheard of for the titan, however, so was finding a tree spirit on earth. She was schooled… well, she had knowledge of their kind, a variety that grew exclusively in her home… hell.

She had asked it lightly, not wanting to surface bad memories, how it had gotten to earth. It had not known either.

The girl quickly changed topics when she heard the spirit respond, and the light laughter commenced once again.

This seemingly one sided dialogue went on for a long while, before something terribly happened.

A group of people approached her, and the girl, being lost in her talk with the oak, was blissfully unaware of their presence.

The gang stopped, and the leader stepped forwards, his pants hanged off his ass, as well as his shirt could most likely pass for a knee length skirt. He cocked his hat the side and revealed his crooked teeth, several gleaming a bright gold.

He spoke.

"Hey chick, come down here, lets have some fun." He said in a raspy tone, one that suited his appearance.

Raven chuckled and said something, from the gangsters view, all he saw was her ignoring him, he spoke once again.

"Hey bitch, I'm talking to you!" this time he raised his voice, the peons behind him cackled.

The girl in question became aware of _its _presence and turned her head to mildly look at them, from her perch, far out of their reach. She'd had to resort to flying to actually reach her desired and recommended branch. It was quite cozy once she got used to it.

She dully spoke. "What?"

He removed his hat from his bald head, which was partially blocking his view, and cocked his head to the side, the idiots behind him talked amongst themselves.

"Come down here, little lady, I'll show you a good time" he gave a quick glance to the puppets stationed behind him, and continued, "it'll be fun."

She almost wretched at the sound of his voice, it grated at her ears, it sounded so vile, so putrid, like even hearing it would contaminate her with filth. She spared him a response through the desire to establish quarantine.

"I'd rather burn in hell." She said flatly.

The moron actually went so far as to pull a gun from one of his many oversized pockets, pointing at her with unearned authority, his stance making it obvious he was inexperienced with firearms.

"Get down here bitch." He proceeded to cock the gun, which was unnecessary, seeing as modern firearms did automatically when fired. She chalked up the dumb move to his idiocy.

She frowned at him, leering at the thing like a piece of rotting meat.

Exactly what she knew _he_ was, rotten.

"No." she said, disinterested. She actually sympathized with the man, not for the obvious reason,

Rather for his deciding to molest _her_ of all people, she prayed he didn't provoke her, though she knew he deserved his resulting death.

He then did the worst thing he could have done.

He shot her.

Of course, she had long since raised a shield, though she was faintly sure he wouldn't go as far as to shoot her, she was not taking any chances, not at the moment at least.

She grimaced at him. "You missed."

He looked up at her through slits and beckoned to his minions, who in turn, pulled out yet more firearms, he commanded once again through gritted teeth.

"Get down here bitch."

"no." She said, hoping that he would take the hint and leave her the hell alone.

They dug their graves.

Multiple shots rang out.

Raven went so far as to mock yawn as the bullets fell harmlessly to the ground beneath her, she leaned back against the tree and resumed her conversation, this time, asking about the people currently attempting to harass her.

"You know them?"

It said it had felt them around it before, always chasing something or other, they were a pack of wolves, savage and uncivilized.

They had no concept of a higher power. They were the top of the food chain.

The dark titan brought it upon herself to show them.

There is always someone stronger.

She would show them.

And they would never harm anyone ever again.

She once again sat up on her perch and dropped to the ground, she was a good fifty feet from the grass beneath her. The shots ceased and the leader watched her expectantly, waiting for the splat, then he could have his _fun_.

He grinned as the girl contacted the ground, as he heard the snap of her bones. Then he strolled towards her, lazily swinging his arms at his sides.

"Well bitch, lets have some fun."

_Really?_ He heard a voice in his head, it echoed vaguely back and forth in what was left of his mind. And though he would never admit to it, the sound of it struck fear into his black black soul.

_Well, I'd like to have some fun as well_, the voice stated.

His steps stopped as the corpse cracked and straightened out, regaining natural form. He restrained a flinch as violet eyes glared into him with a physical hatred.

The girl cocked her head to the side, a sadistic grin on her lips. She flicked her hands at the ground, summoning the massive trees shadows that surrounded her and the group of idiots. The darkness pulled towards her, pulsing and writhing like insects. She spoke once more.

"Well."

He took a step back, though attempting to retain his composure, he would not back down in front of his minions, he couldn't.

They did not share bonds of loyalty, of friendship. Merely of power.

If he lost his, he lost them, as is the cost of his power, he may not show weakness, not now, not ever.

"Dogs, " she addressed the group, who were all gaping wide eyed at her, she smiled inwardly at the palpable fear they exuded, she knew that they would never bother anyone ever again.

Ever.

She loosed a low whistle.

The gang felt unimaginable fear course through them. They feebly tried to run from the girl, however, were bound to the spot.

Bound by their own fear.

They would _never _bother anyone ever again.

The girl grinned even wider as the shadows spit out her creatures, as they slowly protruded from the pool of shadows, straining against the chains, snarling at the petrified group.

The pack tore against the chains, pushing forwards with their massive sinewy legs, snapping at the air with their maws defiled teeth, glaring seething hatred at the group with their blood shot eyes.

"Meet my dogs."

She laughed a slow, insane laugh at their fear, almost proud of herself for the riotous act she was committing. She kept a calm hand on the bundle of chains in her hands, effortlessly restraining the hounds of hell that tugged against them with the strength of a raging inferno.

Just as the bonds of their loyalty were so easily broken, so were the chains.

The last thing any of the gang would remember, was searing pain. The girl had not killed them, no matter how much she wanted to, no matter how much they deserved it. She couldn't.

So… she merely took a trophy, from each and every one of them.

They were all punished equally, none among them considering raping an innocent girl wrong, she had valid reason to do what she did. She had more than enough reason to do what she did.

They would, and could never bother anyone ever again.

…As well as have little retarded children.

Jinx sighed, she had ran all that way, chasing an eluding scream to the ends of the earth, to come to this…

Sea world.

What in the hell was she doing there, and where the hell was her pot of gold?

Well, it seemed a rather loud person had loosed a banshee shriek at a killer whale. The whole place had had to be evacuated when the resulting bull rush shattered the tank.

She was unsure as to why it all happened, and at the same time, apathetic.

She sighed once again in rapid succession. She now had to begin the long and fairly dull trek back to her home in the apartment complex of Go city.

Her room was #805, at the farthest end of the structure, at least from her current location.

She felt another sigh wouldn't express her frustration and groaned, starting her walk back to her now incredibly desirable couch, all the while wishing she had the ability to teleport.

She cursed her faith in miracles, it had once again led her to the worst possible place…

_Sea World…_

She shuddered at the thought.

After calling several ambulances for the neutered idiots, she had flown back up to her perch to resume her talk with the tree, as well as to avoid any resulting questions about the morons injuries, many like,

"Excuse me, miss? how did this happen?"

Sure, she could have had the wound cauterized at the dogs' bite, something they were famous for,

The ability to keep a victim alive until the head is removed.

But what would be the point in that? They needed a lesson, a good one… she had given one to them.

So there she sat, enjoying her spontaneous conversation with the tree spirit, a small smile on her lips as the friendly and harmless conversation progressed. She was actually smiling, she was _purposely _smiling, not a reassuring or fake grin, a genuine happy smile. It was a monumental day for the both of them.

It was the trees first friend in what seemed an eternity.

The same went for the titan.

Sure, she had friends at the tower, good ones at that, but they were friends of condition. They had to accept her, they were part of a team after all. Even though their relationships had strengthened, tightened into a true friendship, it had started in the wrong way…

It seemed to the girl, almost forced.

It seemed, that without the tower binding them together, her fellow titans would hate and fear her like the rest of the world.

The tree was different, there were no bonds but bonds themselves. Though the same problem was presented, eons of loneliness tends to make one desperate, she still thought of it as a true friend, for a reason.

They were the same. They had the same home, the same humor, the same… life, it seemed.

Though it seemed a bit egotistical to like another like herself more than those not, it seemed only those _like _her could appreciate her for who she was.

That was something that she rarely shared with another human being, a common root.

Both literally and metaphorically, she and the tree were alike. She bet herself, had the tree been in human… rather, _moveable_ guise, they could have been best friends far earlier, had the tree decided to move out into the world and find someone…

_Her…_

She was almost rueful at the tree being bound as it was, she knew the story behind a Hell tree, one that was pitiful in itself.

A hell tree is born when a sinner is condemned to eternal punishment, near the worst punishment there is.

Eternal damnation.

They are put in a form, an immortal form, one incapable of having any influence in the world, one rooted to the spot for forever more, one bound for all time, forced to an eternity of exile.

Alone.

She knew the story all too well. The tale was personal as well. Her father had condemned many people in his life, deserving or not of the torment.

As was his duty as a demon, to irrationally serve out torture.

Though duty can only go so far. His own ideals eventually clouded his judgment. More and more sinners were sentenced to be bound for oblivion.

An eternity of consciousness, all alone.

And it appeared this poor soul had gotten the worst of it. He had been bound among the living, breathing people. Frozen in time as he watched them walk around, enjoying their lives, while every moment he knew in his heart he would never be able to join them.

Her sick bastard of a father was _exactly_ that. He had punished this person almost as severely as he had her, and that was something no amount of lifetimes of mistakes could deserve in retribution.

She sat on a magnificent tree, one that had managed to keep its sanity, its faith in the world after seeing so much pain. Mental as it watched something it would never achieve, physical as it was trimmed every year, as its limbs were hacked off.

Somehow, it had retained its humanity through the sheer inhumanity of it all.

This was someone deserving of her help.

This was someone with infinite wisdom, someone who had seen all time pass by their eyes. Imagine, how it must have been.

So magnificent, watching history in the making.

So painful, knowing it would never play a part.

She had to save it, she had to.

And she knew how.

She asked the tree once again, this time, hope lining her words, she needed an answer for her question, and it _had _to be the right one…

Or else… she couldn't help.

So she asked it, she asked the tree, "Who sent you here?"

And it answered, it said with conviction, this one memory remaining strongly amongst the pain. It said exactly what she desired to hear… her father, had been the judge of this soul.

Which meant, she, his daughter, could reverse it.

But there was more to the deed, she once again asked the tree. "Do you wish to be free?"

Once again, it said exactly what she prayed it would, it muttered affirmation, almost regretful in its response. The empath could tell it saddened at her question. She reminded it of what it would never have.

At least, not until then.

So she smiled, a small smile, but a step in the right direction nonetheless.

She could not have freed it, had it not verbally said that it desired so.

She spoke once more to the tree, returning to the harmless conversation, while the ritual she would have to perform played out in her head. She knew exactly what to do, she however, needed more time. She could not let the tree know she would free it, as is the custom.

Nor could she free it within sixty six hours after hearing its response, after hearing it say it desired so.

She spoke to the oak, harmless light topics sprang forth, time passed by at a remarkable pace, it seemed they had much to talk about.

However, the day grew old, and the titan had to take her leave from the oak, she muttered to the tree after leaning back against the trunk behind her.

"I have to go, it's getting late…" She said, her tone then lightened, "I'll be back soon, ok?"

It heartily gave its thanks and its parting words, then felt the girl gently float away from its many branches.

Although it could not possibly be physically so… the tree was smiling.

Jinx took a deep breath as she stepped into her magnificent apartment. It seemed all the more grand after her immense walk back to it. She immediately kicked off her shoes, pulled down her skirt, and removed her shirt. Now in her most comfortable state, _in underwear_, she hopped over the back of her couch, carefully choosing her liftoff location, still wary of where she landed on the cushions.

She impacted the pillows and grinned victoriously, she had missed the "butt cleft", and had located the remote, right next to her, such luck was unheard of for the girl.

Once again, her name was _jinx_.

She absently scratched her stomach with her alternating pink and purple nails, loosing a large yawn as the fatigue from her trip caught up with her. She was inwardly glad she had chosen to leave her hair down, otherwise her trademark horns would have drooped, she after all, regularly needed to apply product to keep it in such a dramatic shape.

But… it _did _look awesome… totally worth it.

She lazily flicked on the television, immediately lowering the volume, after she had turned it on, _at full blast nonetheless_, she was no longer willing to risk her hearing. She swore she was tone-deaf far at least a week after the incident, but had no proof, seeing as if she was, she would be unable to hear it.

How logical… and ironic it was.

She flipped through the programs and stopped as she came to a mock zombie movie, called "Shaun of the Dead".

She watched it for as long as she could manage, sleepily laughing as she was amused. However, her eyes soon felt heavy, she shut off the tv and stumbled her way to her what looked like _godly _bed, and weakly shoved herself under the covers.

She flicked a bright pink bolt at the switch in the corner of the room.

The lights went off, and she fell into a peaceful and relaxing sleep.

Raven arrived at the tower, still in her thoughts as she entered through the doors and phased up to her room, she had to get some sleep.

She would need it.

So the girl avoided the other titans and appeared in her dimly lit room, she slipped out of her clothes and jumped into bed, almost… excited, about the following day.

And she slept.

The girl took a deep breath and settled back into the chains that wrapped around her body, she was exhausted…

And infinitely lucky to receive a break from the torment, she took the sparse time to think, to close her eyes and imagine she was somewhere else, somewhere else where there is no pain…

And she couldn't think of anything, she had no imagination to work from, the only place she had ever seen was the one she was bound to,

So… what could she do with her time?

_Escape_

She heard a voice in her head, one she had never heard before.

However scared she may have been, she responded to it, almost curious about the one variable in the hell she was trapped.

_Who are you?_

It laughed to itself and responded once more, with conviction. The voice sounded…

_You._

Could she have budged in the chains, even taken a breath, she would have scoffed.

_Me?_

_Why yes, master, who else would I be? _It said, almost surprised.

She would have laughed, had she been able to, she decided to humor the voice, one that she decided she had conjured from her mind to cope with the pain. She would never do such a thing, at least, not purposely.

She was a demon, after all. Such an act would cause more danger than safety.

She responded, almost in a light tone, though masked by the harshness of her thoughts,

_Well, what do you want, me?_

_What we both want, mistress, freedom. _It continued, _And I can get it for us, all you need to do…_

_Is let me._

She did not find the voice amusing, even inspiring. Something like it would only mock her, offer her a way out then close it should she accept.

It must have been her father…

To stoop so low…

Still… there was a chance, no matter how small, that it could in fact, get her out. And that was something she would _never _allow to pass her by.

So she spoke to it a final time,

_Free me._

Violet eyes lazily blinked open, looking up at the ceiling above them in a daze.

Then a girl sat up in her bed, the sheets covering her softly falling to meet themselves at her waist. She took a deep breath and spun her neck around, cracking out the kinks.

Then she threw the sheets off her body, a gentle smile on her lips.

Raven was smiling, no matter how small, a smile is a smile.

She was happy, that was the day, the day she would free her friend from its cage.

The empath threw on her usual uniform, as well as her trademark cape, she however, left the hood down, only using it for cover from peering eyes.

She took to the door, slid through it, and headed for the kitchen, eager to get some food in her so she could see the tree once more. She came to the end of the hall and was met with the usual sight,

Cyborg whipping up pancakes, as for the green boy, pancakes were not meat. So he patiently sat at the table, as well as the lovebirds, who were receiving unwanted commentary from the shapeshifter.

She sighed and took her usual seat at the table, having to squint at the light that poured in through the massive glass windows opposite her.

It was a beautiful day, and it appeared the sun had gotten her memo, and was hanging in the sky, practically begging her to visit the tree once more.

The usual conversation echoed through the room.

"Pancakes up 'yall", Cyborg shouted as he took his usual seat.

The mad dash for food began, and after securing two pancakes from the now empty plate, she ate her breakfast, offered her muttered thanks, and headed for the door, not even taking the time to mock anyone for their ridiculous appearance,

Syrupy.

Raven took the same spot she'd had the previous day, the wind gently caressing her cheek, the sun showing down through the leaves, dancing in the breeze.

She took a deep breath, and spoke to the tree for the last time.

"I free you", the words seemed to hang in the air, flowing in the breeze that whipped though the leaves on its branches.

The girl fell backwards off the ground and landed softly on her feet, taking steps forward, she approached the base of the tree, she knew what would happen, she was well versed in the ritual.

She took a deep breath and reached out, gently contacting the callous bark of the tree. She once again spoke.

"You are free."

The tree seemed to vanish, slowly becoming more and more transparent, until it faded completely away, the leaves and branches that grabbed at the sky, the leaves that littered the ground, that formed a solid mat of green, the thick base that suspended the massive plant, it all vanished.

However, in its place, was left a figure, a jet black, shapeless figure, idly flowing with the breeze, somehow, she could feel it… it was… happy, unimaginably happy.

She reached out a hand to the figure as it solidified and took form. Its dark haze receded. Legs materialized as were planted gently on the ground. Arms reached out and took the girls, readily accepting its help. Having been unable to move for such a long time, simply standing, keeping balance would take some practice. She smiled once more as the face took definition. It formed a beautiful sight. A girl, roughly the same age as the one supporting her. She opened her brilliant green eyes for the first time in what seemed forever and weakly looked around, smiling as best she could after so long without movement. She sighed as the shades dancing around her scalp lengthened and formed deep jade hair, flowing down her back, and settling just above her shoulders. She opened her mouth to take a deep breath as her lips formed, a dull shade of forest.

Her smile faded as she looked down at her chest, the air filled with amused laughter.

She was naked.

No surprise.

The empath quickly removed her cloak and wrapped it around the girl. Grabbing the girls wrist as she lost her balance and started to fall.

Then the girl spoke in her native language. Wind.

And raven contently smiled. She had thanked her, thanked her so much for what she had done.

"Don't mention it." She said with a grin.

The girl spoke once more, to others, it would sound like leaves rustling in the wind. She was surprised at how good it felt to have a body once again, surprised at the filling warmth.

And she thanked the girl once more.

"You're welcome…" she said, "And… what's your name?" she was curious, although it would change nothing, she wanted to know the name of the person before her.

The green haired girl spoke once more, she said, Ranst.

Raven had released the girl rather early in the morning. Seeing as the ritual took only a few minutes, she now had quite a long time left in the day. And seeing as there was a naked girl standing before her, she decided to spend it getting the girl up to date in the world…

First, clothes and a shower.

She muttered her mantra and teleported them both back to her room in a flash of seething darkness, which then dissolved into the air.

The empath had escorted the girl to her bath, who promptly asked for her assistance in getting in, it seemed her muscles had atrophied after such a long time with no movement, it took all she had to even move her mouth.

The titan would have to work on her physical therapy later, now she wanted the girl in a nice relaxing bath. She set the girl on the carpet and turned the water on. It sprayed out enthusiastically and filled the tub at a rapid pace.

She turned to the prostrate girl, gently picked her up, and lowered her into the steaming water after making sure it wasn't scalding hot, she doubted the girl had seen hot water in a long time, and didn't want to startle her with the sudden increase in temperature.

The girl floated like log, making it obvious the empath wasn't needed to keep her afloat, still she asked for confirmation.

"You gonna be alright by yourself?"

She responded in a light whistle, yes.

"Ok, I'll leave this by the side so you can get me when you're done, " She held it up to the girl who was propped up against a waterproof cushion, and gestured to a fairly large button on the side, "Press this, and it'll call my spare, ok?"

after receiving a nod, she gave a reassuring smile to the girl and left her to her own devices, off to search for a spare set of clothes, even pajamas were better than nothing.

Ranst gently bobbed around in the steaming liquid in a state of sheer bliss, it had been an eternity since she had last felt so magnificent. She twitched her arm in the water and splashed several drops of water onto her face, grinning as best she could.

She was free again, after all that time she was free… and god, it felt great.

She sighed and slid off the pillow, floating in the water that warmed her to the bone, she listened to the steady heartbeat that resonated in her ears.

She hadn't heard it in a long time.

She turned her now weightless head to the edge of the bath, getting a good look at the button she would have to press in order to signal the titan. She chuckled lightly, her breath coming to her not as easily as she'd hoped, it seemed even her lungs were weak with fatigue.

She lifted her arm in a desperate and fluid motion, knocking the device into the tub. It then floated just as she did, completely waterproof in its design.

The girl had taken a small chance and won, she internally smiled, victorious.

The jade haired girl reached out a dainty hand, gently swishing across the surface of the water till she contacted it, and grabbed it softly in her fingers. She spun the device until she felt the slight protrusion of the button she would need to press.

Then she settled back into the water, not ending the heavenly feeling before its time.

Raven glared daggers at the open cabinets before her, she had come up empty in her search, save a jar of pickles she assumed had been hidden and promptly forgotten by the green boy. She could ask one of the other titans for loaners, but… she was not sure at the moment, whether or not she wanted to keep Ranst a secret. Surely introducing them would call for one of their fearless leaders speeches, then several hours later when he finished, they could get on with their lives.

She would much rather skip the middleman, straight to living her life.

However, how was she to feed the girl she now had in custody, she couldn't exactly dump the girl into the wild, she'd been a tree for god knows how long, and most likely didn't have a home she could return to.

She wasn't about to abandon her new friend as well.

The wall once again blocked her path, leaving her with one choice, she would have to tell him,

It however, did not mention how.

Wiggle room is always a plus, it left the empath with much needed maneuverability in her plan. Sure, she could simply have the girl waltz into the room, hands ablaze and whistling. That however, was not as subtle as the girl would have liked.

And damnit, she was subtle. She had a reputation to maintain.

She could simply establish a telepathic link with the titans and tell them each in turn.

Or, she could put a spell on the girl, make her existence slowly fill the other titans until they accepted and noticed her naturally, as though they had known her all their life.

She smirked at that thought, it was actually a good idea.

She was shocked from her stupor as her spare communicator vibrated in her webbed belt. She retreated from her violet bed and strolled to her bathroom to help the girl from her bath.

Of course, _after_ repairing the girls weakened muscles. She slid open the door and walked over to the girl, who was bobbing in the water with a rather content look on her face. She spoke to the girl,

"Try not to move, ok?" she said gently to the girl, who readily complied.

She hovered her hands above the girls chest and head, and concentrated, willing the fibers and tendons to bind together, stronger. They obeyed.

She removed her hands from their posts with a smile. The girl sat up in the pool of water under her own power, a brilliant grin on her lips, she looked up from her toes to look at her savior.

She exhaled in complex patterns, telling the titan there is no way she could thank the her enough.

Raven responded lightly, "My pleasure" She offered out a hand and helped the girl to her feet,

"Hungry?" she asked.

The girl firmly nodded and water sprayed from her soaked hair and dripped from her chest.

The empath grinned, "Lets get some food."

The pair walked out of the titans room, both donned in the titans trademark skintight black leotard. As the empath had nothing else that was _clean _for the girl to wear, she was left with no choice.

They approached the end of the hall, deep in seemingly one sided conversation. The jade haired girl could be comprehended only by those she chose, and seeing as she wasn't even aware of the other titans existence, they were not on her 'understand me' list.

Both turned the corner to the usual sight considering the time. There was always one person involved in the production of food at the tower, she considered herself lucky that the bulk of her roommates could cook fairly well.

However, none other than beast boy manned the stove, frying up some tofu, he diverted his attention from his burning meal to greet the girl he'd heard enter the room, deep in conversation… with herself, this confused him, but no more that the girl usually did.

"Hey Ra… who's that?" he pointed to the jade haired girl with a surprising amount of composure considering his usual one… a spazz.

Raven twitched, she'd forgotten something important…

…she'd forgotten the god-damn cloaking spell.

**Chapter 8: Headache**

**Wake**

_It seems you can only find what you search for when you have no idea in hell you're looking for, much like scanning for an economy size tub of mayonnaise, only to discover later it was in actuality staring you in the face, and highly contrasted by its rather colorful roomies. _

_You then curse to yourself for not being able to see something so blatantly obvious before your eyes, how in the hell could you have missed something so damn big?_

_Things seem to work the opposite of how you want, look for something and you won't find it, avoid something, and guess what you meet?_

**Chapter 8:**

"Hey Ra… who's that?"

She froze, and considered her options, one, she could simply tell the truth… _No_, two, she could cast a spell at that very moment and just erase the boys memory… no, that would take too much effort, erasing memories was a complex procedure, she would have to sort through all his memories to find the correct one, and god knows she didn't want to get in his head for such a simple problem… Three, she could _pretend_ the girl was not actually there... She went with solution three, as it presented the most… entertaining situation.

"Who's who?" she said, sounding genuine.

"You know, her." He shook the hand he was using as a pointer, as well as dragging his other arm quickly up to join the accusation. His voice still rather calm considering who he was.

"… Who?"

He gave her a curious look and dropped his hands limply to his sides, "… the person standing right next to you…"

She gave a quick glance to the girl next to her, gave her a 'follow my lead' inconspicuous wink, then diverted her attention back to the green boy and his burning breakfast. "What are you talking about?" she withheld her usual sarcastic tone, perfecting her flawless lying skills.

She however, had much to learn. Though this meant nothing, seeing as the person she was lying _to _was none other than Beast Boy. She continued while restraining a smirk.

"There's no one there…" she said calmly.

He squinted at the girl and slowly reached out a hand to touch the supposedly 'not actually there' girl, he nearly soiled himself as his hand meshed straight through her face. He withdrew his hand like he'd contract the plague and looked over at the empath, wide eyed. He opened his mouth to ask for help, advice, even a firm smack to hopefully snap him out of his hallucinations. However, he was interrupted.

"Your food's burning." Raven tossed in casually, hoping to distract the boy long enough to shove the girl out of the room.

She smirked victoriously, she'd opened a portal just in front of the girl, it had worked like a charm. The boy spun on his heels and dashed to the pan, which was crackling like the forth of July, fireworks and all. Raven quickly motioned to the other girl to 'shoo' while the boy had his back turned. He shielded his most precious places while transferring the flaming pan to another burner, then turned back to face the titan, the same shocked expression on his face. His mouth dropped as he realized the invisible girl was exactly that… _invisible_.

She forced a curious expression onto her face, "What? You look like you've seen a ghost." She tried with all her might not to crack a smile. As well as the boys glaring arachnophobia, he harbored an irrational fear for the paranormal, strange considering his fellow titans were either alien, part robot, had a previous occupation with a grown man who dressed like a bat, or from hell's abyss itself. This however, changed nothing. The empaths' choice to pull one off on the boy was most likely the slyest thing she could have done.

It was the giant man-eating tarantulas' fiasco all over again. She patted him on the shoulder with a rather _fake _reassuring smile, "You're doin' fine", she slurred and backed out of the room, unable to contain the throaty chuckles that spewed from her mouth.

The boy would later wrongly realize it was yet another prank by the girl, however, that current moment was in fact, _not _later. So there he hung, mouth agape.

All the while his stomach growling as though a rabid tiger was caged within.

Raven, having backed around the corner, met the jade haired girl once again, a smirk on both their lips.

"Wanna' go out for lunch?" She said to the girl, who whistled in affirmation.

Jinx sat, sprawled out on her –at the moment- incredibly uncomfortable couch. She'd been cooped up in her apartment for what felt like years. The actual three days she'd been lounging about had perked up her body, which was screaming at her to get out and to something. Steal, eat lunch, whatever would be fine, so long as physical movement was involved.

She groaned and shifter her position on the couch, not wanting to do anything at that particular moment in time. She had a reason not to leave the somewhat safe haven of #805.

She didn't want to risk seeing the titans, especially the darker of the bunch…

_Raven…_

She felt it would be too… awkward around the titan, for various reasons.

Number one, they'd kissed

Number two, She'd liked it

Number three, part of her wanted to return the favor, though the internal obnoxious voice that it would bring absolutely nothing for either of them, hell, it would probably just complicate things. Most of all her thoughts of herself. She'd just "met" the girl barely a week ago, and by _met_ she meant had had enough of a conversation to recognize the titan as a living breathing person. Even _considering_ hooking up with a hero she had essentially zero personal knowledge of seemed a bit abrupt, even to her.

Yes, it was that obvious.

Both her reasons were essentially looped into the same group, impulsive decision making. She knew that should something like that happen again, she would most likely make an ass of herself.

She quickly rehashed her previous partners, _none,_ and changed the most likely to a definitely.

So there she sat, writhing around on the hard-as-rock cushions, madly searching for a comfortable position, all the while thinking that she desperately needed to get food. Three days into her fridge and she was running out of possible things to put in hot water and consume.

Sure, she'd just been out several days previous, although that epic journey was spawned from thoughtless action. Having now eaten and had something… well, a small something to do, she had no reason to go out and about before considering the possible screw ups that would search and destroy her soul.

Things like that seemed to happen frequently, for a third time, her name was jinx.

Every waking moment she spent twitching on that godforsaken couch ate away at her mind, until several minutes later she groaned and sat up, forcing herself to get some air… in disguise of course, a very… _clever _disguise.

Her clever disguise had been fairly… well, it was not clever. Probably wasn't even a disguise. Though, when has a hat ever been.

The thief strolled down the aisles, scanning the various instant products that stood gloriously before her. Smiling a toothy smile at the girl, muttering to her 'hey, pick me'. She froze as she passed a new flavor of top ramen, whose imaginary voice had the most influence among the freeze-dried products, it bellowed at her,

"Hey chickie chick, right he-yah, yo."

She grinned at it and snatched it off the stack, flipping over to the back by habit, and quickly reading the expiration date.

It had kicked the bucket long, long ago.

No wonder it had seemed a new flavor, it was the _first _flavor, _none_. Basically noodles in water. This little mishap explained the rather gangsterish voice it had. The girl laughed and shoved it back onto the pile, among the other loud cries emanating from its fellow expiree's. She took the flavor she usually took, shrimp, from the modest and quiet stack and dropped a large armful into her basket, before moving on to purchase some salmon from the fish person.

She approached the glass window and absently looked through her choices, though she already knew what she desired, she enjoyed fooling around with the staff, one of her favorite employees was working that particular day. She looked up at the person and said in a rather loud voice,

"Hey, fish monger, one salmon please."

He smiled, and gestured to the stack, in the common, 'which one would you like' type hand wave. She eagerly pointed to the one closest to the front, which from her current position seemed the biggest, it however only seemed so because it _was _the closest.

This however made no difference, they were all essentially the same size.

He snatched the thing from the row, weighed it, wrapped it, and shoved it over the counter with a rather disgusting nasally snort.

"Gnnnnnnn, here's your fish, 'sniff', mam." He sniffed and wiped his nose with his arm, and loosed a mad laugh, as did the girl.

It was an inside joke, something one particularly impolite customer had done to the salesmen, and was then recounted to the thief in hushed tones. All in the past, it nonetheless remained ridiculously hilarious.

Jinx snorted and tossed her money over the glass counter. "Here ya go man."

"Yeah, see ya." He said with a quick nod, and a 'shooing' gesture.

She walked away and spoke over her shoulder, "Have a good one." She said with a wave of her free hand.

Ranst and Raven walked as casually down the streets as they could manage, considering their current wardrobe, they were doing a damn good job. After a moments consideration, the empath had decided on a place to eat… on a place to drink, Starbucks. Though she despised the bulk of the customers… well, the bulk of everything, they were the only place that housed her favorite beverage, tea. And good tea at that.

She would have boiled up some of her own had the kitchen _not _been in use, but it was, so there they were, strolling down the streets, both donned in rather conspicuous clothing, but trying their god-damned best to pull it off with their expressions,

_Flat_.

Needless to say it wasn't working all that well, some curious and therefore _stupid_ people had approached them and been disposed of already.

The empath sighed as they approached the twin swinging doors, they were finally there.

Jinx had purchased enough food to survive a nuclear blast, she however, still did not feel like actually making any of the food she had purchased, no matter how much preparation was required.

And there was very little required.

However, even the thought of tearing that damned bag of god-like goldfish, in all their golden glorious wonder, seemed hardly worth the effort.

She had bought the fish in vain. The girl could cook well enough to prepare a salmon, a dinner she would on occasion spend time preparing.

She had as well bought the numerous top ramens in vain. They were her quick snacks, as they required the least amount of time and produced the most amount of noodely goodness.

So there she groaned, going through the motions of killing off her possible eating locations. Through her frustration she was in essence _hungry_, though for some reason, she desired nourishment in liquid form, much like a smoothie would provide. However, she also wanted star bucks, more specifically, their heavenly 'apple thing', as she called it.

Her mouth watered at the thought.

Would the prospect of delicious-apple-drink be enough to tear her from her couch?

She decided, yes, it would indeed.

So for the second time that day, she headed out to a predestined destination.

Jinx approached star bucks and flung open the doors, presenting a scene reminisce of an old westerner barreling through knee length freely swinging and annoyingly squeaking doors.

She then quickly backed out of the shop and crouched to her knees behind a window advertisement for a new product, some chocolate malt thing.

She silently cursed to herself, what the hell were the chances of that happening, seriously, what in the hell? She had barged into exactly what she was trying to avoid. She took several deep breaths from her position and ran through her options. She could;

leave.

_Not _leave

Do nothing

She sighed, all of her options save one resulted in her saying aurevois to her apply-drink, and that was something she would not let happen.

Numbers one and three, assimilated.

This left number two, not to leave. That translated into two more sub-choices,

Wait for _them _to leave

Just go in

Jinx was far to impatient to wait for the titan to call it quits, which therefore left co-ordinate option (2,2).

No more options were posed by her brain, so she then sighed, got to her feet, and took through the doors, this time choosing to utilize a much more subtle wrist flick to enter the shop.

She thanked her gods that she was not noticed by the titan, then asked them who the girl she was with _was_. She hadn't seen someone like that around Go, and seeing as the girl was green haired, eyed, lipped, everything'ed save her skin, not noticing such a presence would take some considerable apathy.

Rather, stupidity.

She shrugged it off, telling herself she didn't care who the girl was with, no matter… no matter how much it seemed she was enjoying it.

So she robot'ed her way to the counter, ordered her drink, then glanced around to find a place to wait.

Pink eyes shrunk and glared red-hot daggers at the other customers, HOW DARE THEY?

_Is my luck really that bad? _She asked herself after coming to the conclusion; there were no free spots to take a seat. Literally _every_ chair of _every_ table was taken, save the two at the titans, the one place she could not really use. She groaned at her situation, sitting on the ground was absolutely out of the question, she was in a skirt, it would be un-ladylike. So was asking one of the _fat-bastards_ that crushed all her available spots to move their _fat_-_ass_.

All of these combined choices left her with one incredibly nerve wrecking choice…

She would have to sit with the titan, or at least steal a chair.

That however, was also ruled out, as she did not want to be considered the pink haired loner of the Coffey shop, at least, not until she was old and uncaring, and could therefore act like a southerner, hobble about insulting blacks and telling stories about how life was back in _her_ day. She grinned as one of her 'to do before she died' tasks played back in her head, it would be _hilarious_.

She zoned back in and approached the bench, while turning her disguise around to feeble attempt to hide her face, she spoke in a gruff tone,

"Mind if I sit here?"

Raven craned her head away from the jade girl and gave a long, hard look to the person before her. It was _obviously_ jinx, anyone could see that.

She sighed, "What're you doing here?"

Jinx, still in character, responded in a harsh, manly tone, "Getting strong, black coffee, so I have enough energy to fight crime."

_Small Rad-AppleTinie for… Jinx _, the voice echoed through the room, and the thief sighed. She went to retrieve her beverage from the damned person. After giving them a glare, she returned to her desired seat and cleared her throat as deeply as she could manage.

"Mind if I sit here?" she grunted.

Ranst whistled at the girl, saying, 'yes, go right ahead', in her native language, the girl had not met the thief in any past, and even if she had, was not one to judge, she was eager to meet new people, and the girl –who knew raven- was therefore high on her introduction list.. Jinx however, did not understand a sound, and gave the girl a curious look, her impersonation forgotten in front of the girl who must have been crazy.

She said in her normal voice, "What did she just say to me?" she asked the titan, only after realizing she had blown her cover. She sighed and took a quick sip from her straw before the girl responded. Raven sighed once again and gestured to one of the empty seats.

"Go ahead." she droned.

Jinx muttered her thanks and took her awkward seat at the table, she spun around, straddling the back and absently sipping from her delicious apple drink. Still mildly curious about the green haired girl across from her… who didn't speak English.

Her curiosity got the best of her sense of… well, awkwardness, and she turned in her seat, facing the girl who were still in conversation despite the new and somewhat not welcome addition. She said,

"Hey, who's that?"

Raven broke off and looked at the girl, smirking, she could feel it in the girls voice, immense curiosity. This would be fun.

Almost…

"Who's who?"

"Her" she said, in a normal tone, not caring she was conversing with the enemy _and _individual with which she'd had a rather unique experience. She pointed at the jade haired girl, who then pointed at herself with a dull whistle, saying, 'me?'

"Oh… why do you ask?" the titan drolled, masking her amusement in the other girls increasing frustration. She could feel it, the curiosity was eating her -most likely pink- soul.

"Well for one, she's dressed in your clothes" she gestured to the black leotard they were both wearing.

"Oh, that…" she said, while looking away in mock embarrassment.

"That's… nothing." She muttered, forcing a small blush onto her features.

This would be fun indeed.

Jinx raised a brow at the girls response, still feeling to out of place to come to the logical conclusion, that she was joking. But seeing as she was feeling out of place, she came to the _il_logical conclusion, that something happened. And she wanted to be in the loop, almost too much. So she spoke in hushed tones,

"Did you guys… you know…" she broke off, leaving the implication hanging in the air. Forest green lips curved into a smile, and Ranst looked over at the titan. She spoke.

_She's jealous?_, this of course, was only comprehended by the empath, who at the seriousness of her friends voice gave the thief a curious look, passing on the thought.

"Jealous?"

Jinx stuttered and spit out the sip she was inhaling. She responded in a dash, quick to clear up her assumption.

"No-no, of course not, just curious." She uttered.

Raven grinned slyly and continued speaking, content with herself. "Nothing happened, so you can rest easy knowing I'm _all_ yours." She said in a deep, sensual tone, not willing to let the girl off so easily.

Jinxs' reaction went in stages, one, she was embarrassed. For her, something like that was still fairly rare and therefore, something she was unfamiliar with. Two, she was confused at the girl, still feeling like she was out of place, she couldn't hear that the girl was in fact, joking around. Three, she brushed both off reactions and returned the comment, while furiously hiding the barely visible blush that she felt creeping up her cheeks with an equal and appropriate response.

"Good, 'cause _I'm _the one who gets you first, got it?"

Ranst, having watched the causal and rather spontaneous conversation, decided to add the girl to her list. Something she rarely did, seeing as among her people, understanding each other was a personal thing, she would not want anyone to understand her that she didn't first get a good impression of. This helped to foster her style of speech, she spoke what she thought, and didn't care what it sounded like, seeing as only people who were her friends and understood her _would _understand her. So she added the girl, and spoke.

After considering what they had said to each other, she asked a small question. "You two like each other?" she said, sounding like a vague comment, one similar to the titans.

They both speedily corrected her,

"No"

"No"

Ranst grinned at them, such a reaction only said one thing.

"k." she said with a smile. Her voice still toneless, as she spoke with her breath.

Several quiet moments passed. After re-aligning her head to poke the straw into her mouth, jinx raised a brow, realizing she'd understood the jade haired girl. Somehow… She took a sharp inhale to consume as much of her drink as she could, it would serve as moral support.

… _delicious_ moral support.

She turned to the green girl after inhaling her drink, "Say something really quick." The general and fairly vague request was aptly filled, and the girl spoke.

"Say what?" she drolled, doing her best to sound like the dark haired girl next to her.

"That worked nicely, thanks." She said casually, then turned back around in her seat, deep in thought, the conversation resumed behind her.

First off, how did she understand whistles, then convert them into the English language? The girl was surprised at the notion, then brushed it off, something like that was fairly common around the girl. She was a catlike metahuman with bad luck powers.

Comprehension came as no surprise, it was only mildly confusing.

She dropped the subject completely and turned her mind to the titan.

Did she like her?

She gave a look over her shoulder at the titan, who at that moment was taking a sip from her tea in a rather adorable fashion, though she would never admit to thinking something akin to that. She rotated her head back around and focused on the plastic white lid that covered her apple beverage.

She reasoned with herself. She was and pretty much always had been… not… straight. She couldn't even _think _the word gay in her mind, still after all those eighteen years uncomfortable with the thought.

The titan was cute, though most girls were.

The titan was _extra _cute, and had a… a good figure. Hell, a great figure. She admired it in a purely hypothetical fashion.

At least she thought.

And though the concept of pressing herself against that luscious body, of burying her face in the girls chest seemed so unimaginably wonderful. She knew it was only from physical desire.

She couldn't possibly _like _the titan, could she?

No, of course not…

… And even if she did, nothing would ever happen between them. They had a wall separating them…

Crime.

Something that the pink haired girl depended on for her life. It _was _her life, her job, her hobby really.

And she bet the other girl was attached to her lifestyle, saving the people, arresting _her _kind. She must enjoy something so riotous…

Right?

Well… that was something she would most likely never find out. And even if she did, what would change?

Certainly not her, of course… of course she wouldn't change.

She would _never _change over something so impossible.

Over something so futile.

Why should she?

So there she sat, so close to the titan and yet so far away, so unsure of what she desired, so frustrated that she couldn't decide about something so simple,

Did she like the girl?

… she didn't know.

She sighed to herself and settled back into the chair, still mentally separated from the world.

She was getting so caught up in something so worthless, so pointless. Nothing would ever happen either way, so it didn't _matter _either way.

That was her logical conclusion, one she came to with the sum total of all her inadequate emotional understanding.

And she believed it, at least, she told herself she did.

So she absently excused herself from the table, tossing the empty cardboard cup into the garbage on her way through the doors. A vacant expression on her face, she put one foot in front of the other, padding her way back to her apartment as the wind whipped at her skirt.

The mid day sun beat mercilessly down on her, shining down directly overhead. Yet, through all the burning heat she felt chills. She felt cold.

She thought of fires, of her warm bed, of flying in the sky, of anything that warmed her heart as she shivered slightly in the brilliant sun. She groaned as the icy flashes continued.

Nothing was helping.

Why wasn't anything helping anymore? Shouldn't it?

Yes, of course it should, so why wasn't it? What was so different now?

The wind continued to scrape across her frame, however much she would like to place the blame on the breeze, it was in fact, incredibly hot, as it usually was during that time of year.

Summer.

It was fucking _summer_ and she was cold, what in holy hell was happening?

She continued down the sidewalk, wrapping her sparse clothing tighter around her, and draping her arms tightly around herself. She once again pictured the stereotype fireplace fire, merrily cracking in its red tone. She remembered the feeling of slipping into her delightfully warm bed after a long day, she pictured taking off from the ground, scraping her toes and fingers against the airy clouds. And through all the things that made her warm and happy, she wasn't.

It served only to frustrate her. Her mind wandered back to her encounter with the titan. It was her fault wasn't it? It had to be, ravens…

Raven.

She tried to picture the titan in malice, to hate even the thought of her…

But it seemed she couldn't despise the girl, no matter how much she imagined she would.

She was molested, killed by the girl, and yet… she couldn't hate her… why not?

That very same girl who she fought on a regular basis, even the thought warmed her … why?

It made no sense, not to her.

She did the logical thing considering her predicament, she thought of the girl, and she was no longer cold… in fact.. she felt… warm… she felt… Hot?

Why was she hot?

Well, no matter. She thought to herself as she continued down the pavement to her precious room 805, only thinking of the girl by necessity.

She told herself, it was _only _because she was cold, nothing else.

And once again, she believed herself.

She told herself she did.

Jinx tossed and writhed around in her bed, groaning with every turn. She had ended up watching a marathon of "Doctor Who", through her distaste for British programming, she had actually been interested. Several hours into it, she'd felt tired, shut off the television and crawled into her bed, as she did every night. However, not like every night, she found herself unable to sleep. Pictures of the titan kept popping up in her drowsy mind, seductively posed. She regretted thinking of the empath so frequently on her trek back to #805. And even though her thoughts had had nothing to do with that type of desire, she found herself unable to banish the pictures that ran rapid in her head. Her cheeks burned as she remembered how the titan was dressed, how the fabric was pressed tightly against her supple flesh. She felt hot. Even though the day had been unbearably scalding with the sun glaring at her every waking moment, even though the steaming breeze felt too much so in its whishing through her hair. Even though the day had been nothing like what it would take for her to feel as she did…

…She did…

She turned her head to the other cheek, closing her eyes tightly. She was sure the feeling would pass if she answered it, the next time she saw the titan, she would not feel anything for her, no lust, no desire, no feelings whatsoever.

She would let her mind wander, then banish her memories to oblivion.

She would be back to normal again, she knew she would.

She gently slid her hand up over her tone stomach and up to her chest, firmly grasping her breast. Her other hand traced lightly up her thigh, she slid her fingers into her cotton panties.

She imagined the titan, moaning in desire. She pictured how she would look, blushing, breathing heavily, her chest rapidly rising and falling as she slipped her head between the girls legs.

She imagined pressing herself onto the girls' slick form.

She imagined kissing her passionately, kissing her until the sun rose once more.

Jinx awoke to the shouting of her fellow apartmentee's, it was common among the 800 building for an argument to be the official alarm clock, part of why she no longer owned one. Her neighbors were much more efficient in waking her up ridiculously early.

Part of why she despised them so.

She slid the sheets off her and threw on her usual clothes, yawning all the way. After preparing a quick noodle filled breakfast, she took a seat at her couch and flicked on the TV, absently scanning through the channels, a grimace on her lips.

She'd done it.

She remembered all of it, all of it so clearly, tossing and turning in her bed in pleasure. She remembered picturing the other girl, touching and kissing every part of the girl in her head.

It had seemed a good choice at the time, perhaps it was. But, now the following day, it was anything but.

She now realized it would be long before she could forget something like that.

She thought to herself, would she be able to go about her day in the usual candor? Would she be able to mock pedestrians, steal electronics, even leave her apartment without feeling uncomfortable?

She told herself, of course she could. She had only done what she did as means to fall asleep. It was merely a device she had used. And that was all it was.

It had to be.

She needed to know, to prove to herself that it had meant _nothing_, to silence the single voice in her head that told her exactly what she didn't want to her.

So she went about her day as she normally would, she breathed, she ate, she watched tv. And through all the dying monotony she felt absolutely nothing. Perhaps it was simply her body asking for air; why else would she feel so cramped in her own body.

She stood from her couch and stepped to her door, sliding on a jacket on the way. She would walk around.

And she would be better.

So she left her apartment, and she went out into the sun filled world.

Jinx had in the end, decided to visit Mammoth in the hospital. Having nothing else seem worth her time, it was invariably her only option. So she strolled her way down the streets, heading for the place that by now seemed almost like home to her. It was home to one of them, after all.

And his home was her home, that was their promise to each other.

A promise she would never break.

Her steps took her closer and closer to the same familiar doors, they took her through the halls, down to the same familiar door. She flung it open to greet her friend, who promptly beamed at her, lifting his scarred hand to wave to her.

"Doin better huh?" she said to the man after seeing his improvement.

"Yeah," he looked at the scars, "Should be healed up tomorrow."

"It looks fine now." She drolled.

He attempted to close his hand only to wince. He looked back up at the girl. "Still can't really close it." He spoke with a grin.

She raised a brow. "They're keeping you here 'cause of your hand?" It seemed a bit rash for such a miniscule wound.

He shared the girls expression. "Yeah, doctors orders."

She chuckled at him, before lightly responding, "Well, have fun with that." She turned to leave but stopped just outside the door. She spoke over her shoulder in a forced tone, "Get better soon, k?"

"No promises." He said, in an attempt to lighten the mood.

It worked well.

She chuckled at him, waved over her shoulder, and left. She'd missed him during his stay. She missed him being home. His apartment was #811, directly across from hers. As well as the shreek (Shrimp-Geek) being down the hall.

She missed him being there.

…He was her best friend.

But, she told herself, he would be back tomorrow, isn't that something to look forward to?

She thought firmly, of course it is, what the hell kind of question is that?

So she walked down the hall, thinking only of his return to their home. Then she would feel better, wouldn't she? Of course she would, he was the only reason she felt so… empty.

Yes, tomorrow would be a different day.

The thief turned the corner, freezing as she overheard the conversation being whispered between two nurses. Having superhuman hearing is quite a useful thing.

She listened in.

_That guy's getting arrested? Why?_

_I heard he robbed some place, right after he heals up we have to sent him to jail._

_But he seems so nice._

It not for that one, redeeming comment, she would have torn the girl head off. She turned on her heels, back to the room, her pace increasing with every step. They would _not _ruin this for her. She wouldn't let them. She wouldn't fucking let them!

She froze as she turned the corner, coming face to face with several police officers, all stationed in the corners of the room, all armed with shotguns, glinting evilly in the sterile light, two on either side of the door, every officer aimed on her. She shot a look to mammoth, who mouthed,

_Run…_

No… this couldn't happen, could it? How could her luck be that bad? How could her luck be so fucking bad!

She opened her mouth to shout at the world, why in the hell was it doing all this to her?

She firmly blinked and took down the halls, ignoring the policemen's cries for her to freeze, ignoring the various gunshots that ran out, echoing through the halls. She would not be caught in that place, not after he told her to leave.

He wanted her to escape, he always did.

Just as she wanted him to escape… something that would not happen this time, not again.

It seemed she wanted a number of things she would never have.

So she ran through the tears down the aisles of that god forsaken place, out the doors and away, going anywhere but there.

And she ran.

Jinx sat on a rusted, wooden bench, among the swaying trees, the laughing children, she cried. Even in public, among those god damn people, she cried.

Through the tears she was angry, furious. She knew someone needed to be blamed, someone _was _to blame.

And she knew who.

_Raven…_

She remembered, the titan had visited him in the hospital, she had healed him up, so who else could be responsible?

No one else.

It was her fault. She thought through the tears. Deep down she knew it would be a long while until her friend escaped jail, even through his recovery, he would need more time to regain his strength. And until he had it, he could do nothing.

And neither could she. She had always thought of him as an older brother, and she needed her brother there with her…

To make it through her life.

That fucking girl had killed and revived them both, only to separate them once again.

She separated them…

She _killed_ them.

They were all they had, so, without each other… what the hell were they?

Nothing…

It was ravens fault…

She raised her head from her palms and sent a glare to the sun, ignoring the pain in her eyes. She knew what she had to do… What she needed to do.

She had to make her pay for what she had done…

No matter how, she would make her pay.

And they would be even.

So there she sat, stewing in herself. Plotting her empty revenge on the girl who had taken away her friend. And though the girl had no idea how to go about attaining her vengeance, it didn't matter.

She would.

Jinx took down the streets, she knew where the titan was, at least, where she hoped she was.

They were both at that damned coffee shop, weren't they? She thought to herself, they were having a good old time, enjoying their conversation while her brother rotted in jail. How dare they!

She smirked as the shop came into view, and sure enough, there through the window, she could see the girls, both idly sipping their drinks, grinning, laughing.

It made her sick.

The very thought of the person responsible for separating them being happy made her sick.

She would soon feel better.

She shattered the doors with twin hex bolts, and stepped through the metal frames, hoping to rid the place of any interfering pedestrians. Sure enough, all but the titan and her friend bolted out the doors, leaving her among the broken glass, glowering at the empath.

She would pay.

Jinx took her solid steps forward through the crunching glass, grinning wickedly. She approached them.

Raven had long since been at her feet, Ranst stood idly by her side, giving the girl she had previously… well, liked, a curious look.

The thief took deliberate steps slowly to the titan, all the while arms swinging loosely at her sides, the same grin on her lips.

She threw a punch, a slow, ragged punch. Blinded by her hatred her movements became sloppy, predictable, and the fight rapidly turned on her, she lost her ground. Through her seething anger she was losing.

Where was her revenge?

If she couldn't physically beat the girl, what could she do?

Tell her. She thought, tell her what she's done.

So she backed away from the girl, who had calmly been blocking her punches and kicks with ease, still unsure of what to do. She had not done anything to provoke such actions. She could feel it in the girl, hatred, of her. She was not about to fuel the fire, so she blocked and ducked and dodged, waiting to hear what was happening.

Ranst stood on the sidelines, observing the situation, after receiving a 'don't interfere' look from her savior, she had retreated to the counter to take a seat.

So she watched the fight unfold, and watched it rapidly turn in her favor.

Jinx took a step back, breathing heavily. She spoke.

"You arrested him." She said, keeping her voice at a normal level.

Raven looked at her curiously, "What?" she muttered.

Jinx furiously threw her arms down to her sides, in disbelief that the girl would play dumb about something like that. She shouted at the girl.

"YOU ARRESTED MAMMOTH!" she screamed at the girl, who promptly took a step back. "WHY!" she said in the same tone.

She lowered her voice and looked at the ground, feeling tears slowly drip from her eyes.

"Why did you arrest him…" she murmured. "… You nearly kill him, then you turn around and _arrest_ him?"

"Why… why would you do that?"

Raven looked at the girl wide eyed. She had not had him arrested, why _would _she do that? She was well aware of the relationship they shared, and had in the end, saved him _for _her.

She had no reason to take away what she had offered out.

She opened her mouth to speak.

She never had a chance.

The thief bolted from the scene, covering her face with her arms, she sprinted into the distance, leaving the titan feeling… guilty, over it.

She felt guilty over something she had _nothing _to do with.

What in the hell was happening?

Jinx laid in her bed, curled up under the sheets, weeping uncontrollably. Even though she had promised the man never to cry over him, she did. Her situation was hopeless, as was his. At the moment they both desperately needed each other, and could neither free themselves or each other from their respective prisons.

Literal, and emotional.

So there she sat, and among her tears was an affirmation.

She would save him. No matter the cost she would get him out of there.

She threw off the sheets and dashed to the door, through the blinding tears she grabbed her coat and flung open the door, coming face to face with the last person she expected.

"… mammoth…"

It appeared that none other than robin had been the one to turn in mammoth.

So, there was raven, stuck in the middle of the incorrectly placed blame. And though she should not care whether or not she was hated…

She did, for some reason she cared what the other girl thought of her.

She reached a decision.

She would fix everything, even though it presented considerable danger, she would fix the damned problem.

So she had left Ranst comfortably in her bed, then teleported herself outside the city jail.

And there she stood, in front of the massive concrete structure, looking up the walls of the place she would soon infiltrate.

This was the only way, she told herself, this was the only way to correct herself. The only way to get the girl back on her good side…

Well, less on her bad side.

She took a deep breath of the crisp cold air and muttered her mantra, teleporting herself into the building.

Raven glided down the elevated halls, careful not to wake anyone or anything in that place. She glanced around, looking for a certain cell. She would recognize it should she see it. She knew that. So she flew, blandly glancing around for what would most likely be a solid steel door.

She found it at the very end of the row.

Surrounded by four feet of solid steel, having a tiny vent and opening his only sources of air and food, sat mammoth. In complete darkness nonetheless. However considering the time, all inmates had it the same.

He sat there, dully looking down at the floor. He knew he could not bash his way through steel, at least, not such an astonishing amount.

As well as that, his 'guy' had been found, and forced to leave town, which meant there was no one to free him.

Save… jinx.

And that was something he didn't want, he'd even told the officers he was never visited by the girl when they asked him at gunpoint. And yet, those damned guards waited in his room for the girl.

And in the end, they had almost gotten her.

He would not risk having her in the same conditions he was in. It was his responsibility to keep her out of such a drear scene.

So he did.

He started as the door to his cell was torn from the wall, however massive it was, it remained completely silent as it was dropped to the ground stories beneath him.

It never made a sound.

And in stepped the last person he'd expected to see.

"… Raven?"

"…mammoth…" she stared in disbelief, not so much as blinking as tears clouded her vision. "… how did you get out?" she muttered, the rapidly pulsing blood slowly fading away from her initial impulsive decision.

He spoke, "… Raven…"

"That _bitch _broke you out?" she said angrily, her tears ceased.

"Why'd you call 'er that?" he said, keeping his voice low.

"She's the one who fucking sent you there!" she shouted at the man.

He sighed. "No… she didn't… Robin did."

Her anger dissipated as she looked up at the man. He was serious, and…

She was wrong.

"… he did?"

The man looked to the side, "… Yeah…"

Jinx looked down at the floor in front of her as her friend retreated to his apartment across from hers, she felt terrible, after she'd just falsely accused the titan, even went so far as to fight her, it turned out she'd had nothing to do with it.

She was once again, in the titans dept.

Further so than she was the last time.

Hell, she was _still _in the girls dept.

She sighed and muttered to mammoth as he crouched into his room,

"… goodnight, mammoth."

He stopped.

"…Night."

Raven groaned as she sat up in her bed, still sore from the previous day, it had taken a large amount of energy to pull off such a feat.

So there she was, absently looking around her room, the sheets had long since slid off her body, exposing her to the cool air. Normally she would have pulled the sheets back up and summoned her clothes. However, she did not feel cold.

At least, she told herself she didn't.

As much as she would like to ignore the previous day, she was dying from curiosity. She had to know if the girl forgave her, for something she hadn't even done…

But still, she needed to know.

How else could she be warm again?

She gently nudged the girl sleeping next to her, who lazily blinked open and looked up at her, a drowsy smile on her lips.

She had not slept in a bed in a long, long time. She'd forgotten how wonderful it felt.

The warmth.

And in turn, the titan had forgotten.

However bland her situation was, she would not let it continue as it was. She would visit the girl, and she would ask for her forgiveness, even if she would not receive it, she would ask and wait.

And she told herself no matter what the answer, she would leave that place feeling the same,

Better.

So she slid out of bed and threw on her uniform. It seemed she'd once again forgotten to wash her casual clothes and was _once again _forced to leave the tower in a black skintight leotard.

Raven muttered her good mornings to the girl who still was sprawled out in her bed. Ranst returned the sentiment, and after the empath said her goodbyes, she whistled to the girl.

See you soon.

And she left.

Jinx woke up in a daze, quickly blinking in the morning light that poured through her open window.

Her friend was back.

She told herself that he was back, that she should be happy.

So why wasn't she?

Surely she wasn't feeling guilty about what she'd done, it had been the titans fault, it always was.

So damnit, why was she feeling guilty?

She sat up in her twin size bed, the sheets slid off of her. She fell back onto her bed and stretched her arms and legs in the traditional 'jumping jack' position. After her morning stretch, she threw on some randomized clothes, prepared her usual morning breakfast, and once again flopped down on her couch to watch some wholesome television.

And damnit, she tried.

She tried as best she could to sit there and relax, but found she couldn't stop fidgeting. She still felt empty after consuming a tub of instant noodles.

Such a thing was unheard of.

As was feeling guilty.

So there she sat, writhing around on her _now_ very uncomfortable couch, considering why she felt as she did, so cooped up in her own body.

Maybe she needed to get some air?

What did she want? She asked herself.

There was no way she wanted to apologize, was there? Of course not, she had already done such a thing in the past.

And what had happened then?

Nothing, nothing had happened, nothing had changed.

She told herself, apologizing would change nothing.

So why did she want to?

She didn't know.

But then again, she didn't know a lot of things.

So through her feeble attempts to convince herself, she did _not _need to apologize,

She did.

So she sprung to her feet and strolled to the door, choosing to leave behind her coat on that particular sunny day.

It was summer after all.

Raven took down the sidewalk, donned in her usual clothes, she had on this particular walk, decided to skip the harassing of pedestrians, and had therefore instilled an invisibility spell.

Not literal invisibility of course, such a thing was impossible. She merely erased her existence simultaneously from anyone who saw her. They would physically see her, and however, not notice her. Should they for some reason, choose to observe her, they would receive a splitting headache.

Their brain was after all, being reformatted every millisecond they saw her.

So down the pavement she walked, her deliberate steps taking her ever closer to the thiefs apartment. Number 805, she told herself. That was where she needed to go.

Her strides soon stopped, as she saw the one person she least expected.

… _jinx?_

And sure enough, the thief stopped. She was in actuality staring directly at the person she was searching for. She could feel her presence, she swore the girl was right in front of her.

… and yet, she wasn't. How was that possible?

It wasn't, was it?

Well, no matter. She brushed off her confusion and continued down the sidewalk, invariably passing directly by the person she had left her home in search of.

Raven carefully observed the girl, stepping out of her path as the girl walked towards her.

What was she doing there? She asked herself.

Was… was she looking for her?

No, why would she do that?

She wouldn't.

And yet…

The titan felt in her heart, a longing. She needed to find out why the girl was searching. Even though she had no idea what the girl quested for, she needed to know why.

Even though that would change nothing.

So she followed her, throughout the girls day she would shadow the thief, and she would find out why the girl was out there in the world with her.

And that would be the end of it.

…Right?

Jinx had in the end, taken a seat in the park. After a long days searching, she had come up empty handed. She had not seen the titan anywhere.

_Anywhere_

Even during a break in, which she had observed, the girl was the only titan not at the scene.

Confusing, yes.

So there she sat, on a familiar rusted wooden bench, amidst the screams and shouts of fairly obnoxious children all running around, playing pointless games.

And there sat raven, right next to her, she had been on her feet that entire day, as well as that, her invisibility spell took a lot of energy out of her, she needed her rest as much as the other girl did.

There they both sat. Having walked out into the world in search of each other, there they both were, so close to each other.

Raven knew she could end it if she simply removed the spell, it would be so… easy. Really… but then, why was she so apprehensive?

It would take a mere minute or so to discover whether or not the girl forgave her, or at least no longer blamed her.

So why didn't she?

Jinx sighed and leaned back onto the bench, limply hanging her head over the back of the bench, her arms sprawled out over the top uncomfortably, though it didn't bother her. She muttered to herself, still unaware of the girl directly next to her.

"… couldn't find her."

Raven perked up at that, it seemed the girl had indeed been searching for someone…

Was it her?

This changed everything, after following the girl all day long, after watching her steadily falling expression, she knew whoever she was looking for was important to the thief.

So, what if it was her? Would that change anything?

Well, she told herself, only one way to find out.

She removed the spell.

And she spoke.

"Hey, Jinx." She said casually.

The girl started at the sudden voice and craned her head back up over the top of the bench to get a good look at the seat next to her.

Needless to say she was fairly confused.

She sent a curious look to the girl, her inquisitive nature overwhelming her initial surprise.

"When'd you get there?" she said with a flat expression.

Raven, in an attempt to remain nonchalant, leaned back onto the bench, assuming the position the thief had previously been splayed out into.

"While ago." She said.

Jinx, seeing the other girls reaction, joined her in draping her head over the back of the bench once again.

She spoke in a similar tone. "… oh…" her sense of modesty getting the best of her.

Raven was the first one to break the silence.

"So… come here often?", she said, trying to spike up a conversation.

"… yeah, s'pose I do." She absently looked over at the girl. "You?"

Raven smiled inwardly, "… Yeah."

Jinx smiled _physically_, as she realized, they were in fact… talking. This would be… fun, she thought.

"Hey," she poked the girl on the shoulder lightly with a finger, "Are we like, talking?"

Raven took a deep and audible breath. "… Seems like."

The talk was not flowing all that well, something the thief would have to change. "Wow.", she mock yawned, "No wonder I'm so bored." She said in a dull tone.

Raven loosed a slow sarcastic laugh, "Ha, ha, ha, funny, jinx, very funny." She mindlessly prodded the girl with her hand with each syllable.

Jinx brushed off the finger, "I thought so." She chuckled,

They both did.

The thief changed the subject, she realized, the girl she had in fact been searching for was sitting right next to her.

She said in a low tone, "…'M sorry… about… you know, yelling at you…" She sighed, "I know it wasn't you…"

Raven sighed as well, it seemed her problem had worked itself out, and hell, it had turned out better than she expected. The girl forgave her.

… sweet…

"… yeah…", she said awkwardly, "… I know…"

Jinx once again changed the subject, her goal now completed; she was left with several options. She chose, have a decent conversation. Maybe it would help her work out her thoughts about the titan.

"Hey, Raven?" she nudged the girl with one of her boots, "Have we ever really… talked?"

The empath responded, "… no, not really."

She sat up abruptly and beckoned to the girl to come closer. The girl slowly closed the distance, aiming her ear to hear whatever the girl would say.

Jinx once again beckoned in the 'closer' hand flick, as well as a sarcastic roll of the eyes. Raven once again scooted closer, almost… curious, about the girl had to say.

Jinx put her mouth as close to the girls ear as she could while remaining decent.

She burped in a rather unladylike fashion, and snorted in laughter.

Raven, secretly amused, backed away with a however, flat expression.

"Real nice, Jinx, real nice."

**Chapter 9: Valentine Reminisce**

**Wake**

**Chapter 9:**

"He's afraid of spiders?", jinx said with a snort.

"Yep."

"But… he's like… you know."

"Yeah, I know."

"So why's he…"

Raven shrugged and looked over at the girl with a smug expression. They had and _were_ having a decent conversation. It had however, somehow turned to beast boys irrational fear of spiders. And raven, being particularly… well, she thought it was hilarious, was glad the other girl felt the same.

"Hey ray?" she said with a smile.

"Mnn?" she grunted.

"We just, like… talked…"

"Something must be done." The titan said ominously.

The thief chuckled, "Damn straight it should."

Jinx's eyes widened in a dramatic realization, she had the ultimate perfect idea of how to judge what she felt. And it was _perfect_. So all that was left for her to do was to seamlessly, and subtly subway into it, it would be _flawless_.

"Wanna have a sleepover?" She said hopefully, it seemed her ultimate plan had ended up shorter than expected.

Raven grimaced. She had never _never _had a sleepover. Hell, she barely even knew what it was. It seemed… that people were always too afraid to pose the question, either that, or too close-minded to talk to the girl with grey skin. She had in essence, been blindsided, there were _no _transitions into the other girl asking something so impulsive, unless her 'something should be done' comment counted.

Crap… it was that wasn't it?

She sighed as she felt the tangible anticipation building up in the other girls chest. She could feel it herself, the anxiety. The thiefs' strange request had at first seemed simply… spontaneous, but now, sitting next to the girl, it seemed she was in the same boat.

She had never really had a childhood friend.

So there she sat, putting her soul out in the open, and asking something of someone she had never before. Imagine, how uncomfortable it must be for her, even if it was only _her _she was talking to. And though the titan could stew in her hatred of social events,

She only ever had one answer.

"Sounds like… fun." She said with an awkward inflection at the end, almost a question.

Jinx beamed at the girl before returning to her splayed back position on the bench, her head once again drooping ungracefully over the arched back.

"You know… I've never really _had _a sleepover…" she muttered to the girl.

"… same here."

Jinx extended a hand to the other girl, at first jabbing her in the cheek, before blindly correcting her aim and positioning it next to the other girls, in the traditional handshake position.

"Shake for a first?"

Raven clasped the girls hand and shook it deftly.

"Deal."

"Oh yeah", she added in, "… uhhm, whose' place?"

The titan chuckled lightly at the comment, it seemed obvious what the safe… safe_-er_ choice should be.

"Yours."

Jinx snorted once again, "Right, with the other titans an' all… forgot about that."

"Hey, it happens." She pulled her head back over the edge of the bench, seeing as she was previously in the same position as the other girl had been, she'd had to move to actually look at the girl and not at the sky.

Raven sighed as she remembered something mildly important she had to do… clear it up with the 'fearless leader'. She would not look forwards to his reaction. _Hey robin? Sleepin over at jinxies, mnnn-k? _She scowled at the thought of her ever being that perky. She groaned and grabbed the damned device from her belt, flipping it open and once again covering the screen, she nimbly dialed robin with her free hand and glared at the thing until he picked up.

"Robin here." She could see on the screen he was frowning, she guessed he had realized it was her.

"I'm staying out tonight."

"… why?" he said, sounding almost… curious?

"No reason."

"Uhhh…" he broke off as he remembered the 'no prying' rule, the plane ride home rang fresh in his mind.

_Ugh… china…_ He decided to ask one final question, not prying in the least… well, in his opinion.

"… Boyfriend?" he muttered into the speaker, after glancing around quickly.

Raven shut the thing and smashed it back into her webbed belt, returning her stare to the girl who had been patiently waiting next to her.

"Should we… go?" she said with a raised brow.

The thief glanced around them, it wasn't dark, per-say, it was however, somewhat dank. The sun was barely hanging over the mountains and shadows would soon cover them. The sky was however, a clear light blue.

"I guess." She lightly smacked the titans cheek with the back of her hand, "Hey raven?"

"Mmm?" she grunted once again

"Thanks."

In the end, both of them had had _no _idea what to do… even what they were _supposed _to do. And so it happened that they came upon a VHS tape, and though this particular format holds no significance whatsoever, as well as is morbidly outdated, it however contained the thiefs' single, favorite movie of all time.

The Princess Bride.

She had actually clapped the moment she came upon that godforsaken treasure, which of course, was inconveniently located directly underneath her television. Which of course, was a CRT model, and was in position of a built in VHS player.

So there they both sat, sprawled out comfortably on the thiefs' couch, each lying down on opposite sides of the couch, enjoying a classic movie with a friend.

However, did they consider each other friends? They were alike, physically, they shared a common past, _shit_, and they both adored whoever the hell that guy was that said 'inconceivable'… good lord, that was hilarious.

So once again, there they sat, tangled up in a mass of limbs on the thiefs couch, observing a poison gauntlet being switched around.

And they were smiling.

They were _both_ smiling.

As if… they were both happy.

… together.

_Seems to be moving along nicely, master. _A voice interrupted the calm of the titans mind.

She frowned, she hadn't been 'graced' with that sound for quite a while, relatively speaking. She got strait to the matter.

_Why are you here? _She muttered in her head, carefully maintaining an apathetic tone.

_What? Can't I just be here to enjoy a classic film? _It said mockingly.

_No, you can't._

_Oh, well, fine then. I came to speak on behalf of someone._

She raised a brow, lust _never _did anything a favor, ever. What was going on?

_Who? _She asked, genuinely curious.

_Love of course._ It stated matter-of-factly.

A cling-on would have been envious of the girls expression. _… what did she have to say?_

The voice chuckled, _Nothing much, she would just like to have a moment outside._

_Not happening. _She thought flatly.

_You forget your promise, mistress. Surely you don't mean to go back on your word… _It trailed off.

_I never promised th-_

_You forget, mistress, emotions cannot lie… So, what will it be? Hmm?_

_No. _She said immediately.

_Such a shame, here you made her cry. Honestly mistress, that seemed a bit harsh. All she wanted was a bit of time in control… _

_She can __**not**__ be trusted, neither can you. _She thought sternly.

_Really, I'll keep an eye on her-I'll even pinky swear. So? We cool, dude? _It said dryly.

_Drop it, and leave. _

_You wound me mistress, we would never let anything happen, After all, we both want the same thing, do we not? No, we all want the same thing._

_So let us get it for you…_

_Well?_

_What will it be?_

_The answer is still the same, lust._

_What about love, love? _It droned.

_If she wants something, she can ask for herself._

_Master… _Another voice cut in, _Please… let me out… even if it's only for a second… please… _It begged her.

She sighed, it took serious circumstances for love to come out and _plead _for something. A frequently unused emotion she was, and in all her years had weakened, she had been out of use for so long.

It seemed this was her only chance to make use of her life.

If it could be called such.

So she beseeched her master for a chance.

Raven inwardly groaned, feeling overwhelming pity cloud her judgment. She had indeed… made a promise, to every emotion that resided inside her, one unique to each.

It seemed it was time for love to redeem hers.

So she would keep her word to the girl.

_Fine… don't do anything foolish_

_No promises._

_And Love?_

_Hmm?_

_Don't act too weird, okay?_

Raven was at once condemned to her mind, for the time being of course. And love, well, she took her place.

So there both girls sat, watching a film on a tiny television.

Love absently prodded the other girl with her feet, ecstatic to finally be outside… well inside, but it was outside to her. She however, had to maintain her hosts usual mood… flat. So she bubbled internally, thinking all the things she would normally say, and saying all the things she would normally think.

Needless to say she said nothing.

So there she sat, poking and prodding the love of her life. Well, love loved… everything, as was her… well, the point of her. She however, harbored a love greater than her love of most things for the girl on the other side of the couch.

It made about as much sense to raven as it would to a rock. A _dull _rock. But far be it from her to question the inner workings of her own mind.

Love was in love with the girl more than she was with anything else, which meant she was in fact, in love.

It seemed the empaths mind had always had low standards. Branching from such a past as her own, it was unavoidable that she lost her faith in humanity. But she, like all humans, still subconsciously longed for love.

And it seemed it had found it.

She loved that girl next to her, who she'd fought and hurt and been hurt by in the recent past. It made no sense…

But it didn't have to… it was love after all.

Raven, calmly watching the scene from her mind, was actually… surprised. For her emotions to get fully noticed they had to.. well, they had to be in control. Only then could she see the full extent of herself.

And she realized something.

She actually liked the girl.

And rather unfortunately, it seemed that love had overheard her epiphany. A shame…

Raven brilliantly grinned, pulled her legs out of the mesh of limbs and sat up on her decided cushion. She then promptly flopped down onto the other girl, her chin landing at the very bottom of the girls miniskirt, which she had for some reason, decided not to change out of.

Jinx didn't like constricting clothing, which in her opinion, were uncomfortable. Her deciding to _remain _comfortable was one of the reasons that she was so surprised at the other girls sudden choice to use her as a pillow.

As well as it being so out of character from the usually… well, droll character she'd come to know. Hell, she'd never even heard the girl laugh, _really _laugh.

Which was yet another reason she was so surprised, as the girl flopped down onto and loosed a belly laugh at her suddenly tensing up.

She _laughed._

_She._

_**H**__er…_

Jinx sent the girl a curious look, one that reflected the activity bustling around in her head.

Not much activity.

Raven looked up at the girl, broadly grinning. It had been so long since love had felt so… fulfilled. It had indeed been many, many years since the girl had even been given a chance.

So she smiled up at the girl, the girl who filled her hosts heart with warmth.

…_love… what are you doing? _Raven mumbled in _her _head.

Raven nuzzled her cheek into the other girls' thigh, ignoring the various noises she overheard, or the squirming of the limb that she had a firm grasp on.

… _nothing… _The voice said meekly.

_It doesn't look like __**nothing**__, love, care to explain?_

… _no… _it muttered.

_You know you like it, mistress. _Lust intervened, however unintentionally it may have seemed, it was in fact, _planned_.

_This isn't about __**you**__-_

_In fact, I think we'll show you how much you like it…_

_Love? _Lust said, it sounded almost… almost like a command.

_K, _It said, sounding almost obscenely anxious.

Lust was now in control.

And she would enjoy it.

They _all _would.

Raven rubbed her cheek further up the girls' thigh, her nose feathering along the sensitive skin.

The thief's eyes widened, what in holy hell was happening? Was the other girl…

"Rav-ah.. what are you do-uhh", she feebly attempted to push the girls head away, her arms soon fell limp as the feeling washed over her.

The wonderful feeling.

Lust deftly trailed her tongue over the flesh, mindlessly forming random patterns and grinning as she heard the girls breathing quicken.

_LUST, WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING! _Raven bellowed in her mind.

_What we both want, mistress._

_Damnit lust! STOP! _

_She doesn't seem to want me to stop, ask her yourself._

_That's not the point, you can't do that!_

_Why not?_

_Because!... because… it's not… it's not-_

_Not right? I understand if you would rather be the one to take the girl… And I will let you._

The titan slid her hand up the girls' leg, trailing up to her rear. She moved her tongue upwards, tracing the edge of the girls' underwear with the very tip.

_It's either me, or you, so? Who shall it be?_

… _I-_

_Well?_

_I'll… I'll do it…_

Lust continued her assault on the girls' sensitive flesh, she would not settle for such a remorseful response when it was so obvious her master desired so much more.

She would not let her master off on such a meek affirmation.

She would not let her master take over until she realized what she wanted.

Lust slid her free hand up the girls' thigh, nudged away the obstructing skirt and gently tugged the girls panties away and down her legs. She lifted her head up to get a look at her treasure, a smile formed on her mouth as she tenderly licked the girls' lower lips, sliding her tongue affectionately in and out. She sighed contently as the hands that once attempted to pull her away gently coaxed her deeper.

And raven, idly watching from the sidelines, could see and hear the whole thing. The thiefs constant moaning, and… _her_, she was causing it all.

_Her_, she was doing it.

At least, she was going to.

_Lust, stop. I want to take over._ She said resolutely.

Lust smiled, it seemed she had gotten what she wanted…

Her master to admit to herself, that she did indeed desire the girl.

Her master to _want _the girl, as she did.

… _very well, master. _It said, forcing a downtrodden tone to mask her sheer delight.

_Enjoy, mistress._ The voice went silent, and the empath was once again in control of her body, still being held in place by the other girl.

She continued the attack on the other girl, through the writhing and moaning she shamelessly licked away at the girls core. Her hands roaming over the silky smooth skin, kneading everything they touched. She savored the warmth of the girls velvety soft flesh, her subtle creamy taste, the sound of her voice crying out in ecstasy.

It seemed the thief wanted it as well, at least, after some… mild intervention by lust.

It seemed they both wanted it.

No… there is no _seemed_ involved, they both wanted it.

Without a doubt.

A girl sat, rather, sagged in her seat, idly staring down at her desk, ignoring the bustle of the scene around her. Yet another valentines day it seemed, that reminded her of just how much she was loved… She prodded her handmade box, one that she, as well as all of her fellow classmates had made the previous day in class.

And there she sat, aimlessly poking her empty mailbox, fighting the tears that every year ran to her eyes. She would not cry over something so weak, so pathetic. She would not let them get to her.

Even if she was the only one in class to not receive a single valentine.

Every year, the same drear scene played out, and… she was cast out.

Once again she was cast out.

She took a deep breath and banished any feelings of remorse as in the top of her vision she saw a folded piece of paper slide into her paper box. She formed a small smile on her pale lips, it seemed this year would be different after all.

She daintily reached into the carton and pulled out her single valentine and tore the tape seal to get a better look, still beaming.

Her expression fell as she read the scrawled writing.

_Go home freak_

It seemed this year was yet another disappointment… yet another painful three hundred sixty five days gone by to have the same shit keep reoccurring in a never-ending gyre.

So there she sat, resisting the urge to crumple that damned paper that burned through her skin. She would not give them that satisfaction.

She would not show fear, she would not show pain.

And they would _not_ get a reaction.

She extended a cautious hand over her mailbox and released the damnable paper, which fell to the bowels with a dull scratching noise.

Just as that valentine was gone, so did she wish her pain.

She wished so much that she could get rid of it all, just drop it into an infinite void and leave it to rot and decay.

_Then why not do it? _That familiar voice rang out.

_Why not do what? _She thought casually, by that time all to familiar with the sound in her head.

_Separate your anger, fear, everything…_

_Then you wouldn't feel so terrible._

_We could help you, mistress, __**make us**_

_Create us, and you will be free._

… _will it work? _She askeddesperately, after all her seven years in that world, it seemed all she had seen was pain and anguish and despair. She wanted the feeling to stop. And this was her chance.

_I would never lie to you, master, I can't._

_Then… how? _She muttered in her mind.

_I will do it, master, just relax, and let lust take over…_

… _yeah… _She murmured.

She felt… strange, she suddenly felt light headed, out of it. She took a deep breath and lifted her arms onto the wooden desk, supporting her head in her hands as the world continued to spin. She shut her eyes, as for a moment intense pain rang out in her mind, as though it were being split apart. Then, it suddenly stopped…

It _all _stopped.

The world came into focus, and she once again felt ancient gravity weigh her back down to earth. And… she felt so…

Bland.

She felt absolutely nothing as she raised her head and scanned around, observing the other kids walking about, laughing, frolicking like goddamn wild animals. And somehow, watching all the things she had missed out on … she felt nothing…

Shouldn't she feel better that she no longer feels… sad?

No… she was not content, angry, not even confused anymore.

She was simply there.

Could she have felt anything, she would have felt great, she no longer cared what other people thought. Not on a conscious or unconscious level.

_Master, we live to serve. _Seven voices all rang out, all holding the same definite sound, yet… different tones.

_We are your knowledge, _

_Your sadness,_

_Your happiness,_

_Your love,_

_Your courage,_

_Your rage,_

_Your lust, mistress. _Rang out the familiar voice, as well as several others

_And we will take your pain. _They all spoke simultaneously.

The oldest of the voices spoke once more. _Well master, how do you feel?_

_I… I don't…. _She droned. _I don't feel…_

_Are you content with your decision then? _It said dryly.

… _I suppose I am…_

The girl absently glanced up as she felt someone before her, a glazed look in her eyes. She gave them a dull look.

"What?" she said flatly

A group of boys stood before her, all glaring at her through slits. The front most of them spoke in harsh tones, "Hey freak."

She looked at him with a dull expression, appearing completely unaffected. "Hmm?"

"Why are you so freaky?" he said with a laugh, the kids behind him followed suit.

"That didn't make you look like an idiot at all." She drolled, maintaining her tone. She was no longer afraid of him, or the pain that would follow.

The laughter ceased. "What'd you say? Freak!" he shouted at her, inaudible among the din of the other children, shouting at each other in excitement, it melded with the white noise, however, sounding clear to the girl, as well as the boy and his group.

"You deaf now too?" she said dryly, "You know, if not for society natural selection would have killed you off long ago."

He and the others cracked their knuckles, grinning at her.

The leader spoke once more, "That's it!" he raised a fist and hurled it forwards.

Much to his and the empath's surprise, it was caught in the girls hand.

_Allow me to handle this, master. _Rang out an unfamiliar voice, through its respectful tone she could hear it. Hatred, even fury.

She no longer cared.

_Do what you want, voice._

_Please, call me Rage._ It said for the last time.

Raven suddenly broke out into a vicious grin, her teeth elongated and sharpened to points. She craned her head to look up at the boy, her eyes glowing brilliant red.

"That wasn't very nice." She turned in her seat and got to her feet, her pale skin going unnoticed among the blurring colors of her classmates running about, still oblivious to her, too caught up in the day.

Valentines day…

She got to her feet, never releasing the boys hand, and through his feeble attempts to pull himself free he remained easily in her grasp. He spoke once more.

"Let me go freak!" he shouted at her.

Raven loosed a cruel smile, she could hear it in the boy, fear.

"How does it feel?" she said, her tone making the question rhetorical.

She tightened her grip and the boy flinched at the increased pressure, the kids behind him shifting from foot to foot, unsure of what to do.

"To be in pain." She clenched her hand tighter still, grinning at the sound of bones crunching.

The boy who every day treated her like crap, like an animal, now kneeled before her.

It wasn't enough.

She wanted more.

_More_.

She curled her fingers, penetrating the flesh of the boys hand, tearing into the skin. He loosed an anguished cry.

It went unheard.

"Does it hurt, _Robby_?" she spoke his name with tangible distain, the words dripped off her tongue, filled with intentions.

She rotated her arm, and chuckled as the hand in her grasp was torn from the boys wrist, limply dangling, a pulsing mass of bleeding meat. And still, she constricted the flesh in her hand, clutching it tightly and laughing as the blood spurted to the ground.

And all this, raven watched from within. She knew something was wrong, something was so wrong… She wouldn't do that, would she?

Should she?

She should be feeling something…

Restraint.

She should be holding herself back, and although she had every day wished unholy death upon that damnable child, she would never do what she had done.

So why was she idly watching from the sidelines?

_Because, master, __**we **__are here now. _Lust spoke to her in an understanding tone.

"… stop" the boy said through sobs, the pain forcing him to kneel, and his pride forcing not to beg for his life.

"Did you stop when I asked _you_ to, Robby?" She tore the hand from his arm and tossed it to the side like filth; it hit the floor with a wet splat and rolled along the tiled floor, the splintered fingers flailing, writhing about, trailing warm blood that glinted in the dull light.

"WELL!" she bellowed at him, fury destroying her previous call composure. She took blurred steps forwards and roughly heaved the child from the ground by his throat, violently shaking him with every word she spoke.

"DID YOU EVER STOP? DID YOU EVER FUCKING STOP?" She tightened her grip and smiled maniacally, slow, calm laughter ripping itself from her throat as she watched him suffocate before her.

He would get his.

She would make sure of that.

_No… _

Something was wrong…

_She's going to kill him…_

She felt something.

_She's going to __**kill **__him…_

Something…

_KILL him!_

What was it?...

… _I need to stop her…_

Remorse?

_I HAVE to stop her!_

No…

_I WILL STOP HER!_

She felt herself once again.

Raven dropped the boy to the floor and took a step back. Receiving horrified stared from all people in the classroom, the room was completely silent, if only for the boys muffled sobs.

She looked around at all those people, all those people looking at her like she was a monster…

… she was a monster, wasn't she?

… No…

She was not a monster.

He was not dead.

So neither was she.

Raven took steps back, crouching in the corner as the shocked looks continued to bore into her body. She needed to get out of there…

She had to…

_Please… get me out of here…_

_Your wish is my command, mistress._

The shadows of the room pooled before her, writhing and twitching like water in a breeze. The girl sunk into the darkness.

And she was gone.

A girl sat on a dark green bench, absently swinging her legs back and forth an a futile attempt to distract herself from her current situation. She slowly lifted her head and looked around at everyone else, running around on the tarred pavement, laughing, living. It seemed her teacher had sent her students out for a free period, something that that particular teacher did every year on that particular day.

Valentines day.

So there she was, sitting alone on a backless bench, her brilliant pink hair flowing in the slight warm breeze.

Once again, she was sitting alone on her bench, mindlessly counting the gravel that had been kicked onto the pavement, counting each time her legs completed a full swing.

She took a deep breath as the pain momentarily caught up with her, she reasoned with herself.

You're different, people don't like different, look at Newton, think he was accepted immediately?

Of course not.. but, then again, he was not outcast for his appearance, merely for his ideas.

She on the other hand, was exiled from the other children for her combination of X chromosomes, something she could never easily hide.

She forced a smile onto her pale lips as she confided in herself, that she would eventually find something worth living for, all she had to do was wait.

So there she sat, patiently waiting for a reason. And as much as she told herself she wanted nothing to do with her classmates, all her seven years she told herself the same droll thing.

But she did, so much did she want to run and laugh with the other children.

Yet there she was, excluded from the crowd, dully staring in with forced apathy.

"Hey."

She looked up from the ground, the fake smile still on her lips, it faded as she saw who it was.

"…" she meekly stared up at him with her pink catlike eyes, not saying a word.

"Why're you such a freak?" he said mockingly.

"I'm not a freak…" she muttered to him, keeping her voice neutral in its tone.

"Yea you _are_, _Freak_!" he said, louder than before.

She looked back down at the ground, timidly staring at the many pairs of feet she could now see before her.

He grinned, proud of himself for the damage he'd caused. He mockingly laughed at her before kicking her in the shin and walking away, motioning for the other boys to follow.

The girl took another deep breath as her leg thwarted, and sighed as the pulsing pain came to a halt. She glared at their retreating forms, she wished she could do something to fight back, _anything _to fight back.

So long had she been pushed around without any means for release of her pent up frustrations, she needed a way to fight back, only then could she end it.

She withheld the giggles that threatened to tear itself from her throat as the boy who had kicked her tripped on his shoelaces, falling flat on his face.

She tried and failed, loosing a loud high pitched laugh. She stopped immediately as the boy got to his feet and glared in her direction.

"Something funny?" he shouted at her from the distance, his voice being more than audible.

"I-Uh." She quickly responded while looking away to the side, eager to avoid another pointless fight.

It was seven on one, how could she hope to win?

He and his group stalked up to the girl as a quick pace, the boy grabbed her by the scruff of her shirt and looked her in the eye.

"I'll show you funny." He said and went to bludgeon the girl.

However, her shirt tore, and she fell back to the bench, the fist passing over her head, the momentum carrying the boy forward and tossing him over her. He rolled down the slight slope of the gravel covered hill, coming to a slow halt at the base, and completing his spin to contact the lower playgrounds pavement.

The girl grinned at this, it seemed her luck was improving.

… rather, his was getting worse.

The minions left in his wake decided to charge the girl, however, they all happened to choose such an approach simultaneously, and streamed to the ground in a tangled mass of limbs.

Leaving her sitting on the bench in a surprisingly good mood, it seemed she'd had more luck than she could have hoped for. She craned her head skywards and took a deep breath, then lowered her sights to get a look around.

Something was wrong…

Why wasn't anyone laughing?

It was funny, wasn't it? They'd all just fallen by themselves, was that no longer funny?

No… it was only amusing when it was her that tripped.

She was receiving looks, from students and teachers alike, all glaring at her like she'd been responsible for the whole thing. Had they not seen it? She'd had nothing to do with it, and even if she had, she hadn't started the damned fight.

But something sure as hell finished it.

She gave a curious look to a teacher as she trotted over to her, a scowl on her heavily coated with lipstick lips.

The teacher stopped in front of her. "You, come with me." She said with distain.

The girl looked up at her in disbelief, "But I didn't do anything-" she was violently cut off with a firm slap across the face, her gaze returned back to the adult before her with her hand covering her reddened cheek.

"Up." She commanded.

"I didn't do anything." She said stronger than before, perhaps her luck would hold out.

The adult roughly grabbed her arm and hauled her to her feet, and started off dragging the girl behind her.

However, she soon fell to the ground as her heels caught in an indent in the pavement, her foot twisting in the scarce covering, she plummeted to the ground, heavily contacting the ground with a groan. She rolled over, looking up at the girl with more hatred than before. She slowly got to her feet and adjusted her clothes, complete silence surrounded them. She once again pulled back her hand to slap the girl across the face.

And once again she fell, the twist of her hips snapping a heel of one of her rather pricey shoes, she fell to the ground once again, cracking her elbow against the concrete with a resounding crack, she grunted at the pain.

The young girl looked around in disbelief, everyone was still glaring at her. They'd all seen it this time, she had had _nothing _to do with that…

So why were they still looking at her in such a way.

Looking at her through slits, dead silence all encompassing the dirty looks.

The young girl still stood, stuck in her thoughts.

This wasn't right, was it?

Why were they all glaring at her?

She hadn't done anything…

She never did anything…

So why were they glaring at her?

She took a step back as the mob stepped forwards, forming a semicircle around her, several teachers closing the back.

So there she stood, amidst the crowd, she firmly shut her eyes, telling herself, this wasn't happening, it couldn't be happening.

"What?" she asked them all, turning in a circle to give them each a look.

"WHAT?"

Jinx and Raven awoke with a dull look on both their faces, both breathing slowly in the thiefs twin size bed. The empath sent the other occupant a curious look as reality set in.

She was in bed… naked… with someone… what happened?

"Um…" she muttered.

Jinx however, grinned up at the girl timidly, obviously content with the situation. "Morning good-lookin." She said with a brilliant smile, her previous hesitations dissipating. She nuzzled her face into the other girls chest, taking a deep inhale. She paused for a moment and placed wet kisses between the girls breasts, trailing up her torso and her shoulders, gently nipping at the crook of her neck.

"Sleep well?" she muttered into the skin, still in a state of bliss.

"… yeah." She murmured sleepily in return, loosely wrapping her arms around the nude girl and pulling her closer, nuzzling her cheek into the girls neck.

"I think I did." She said with a smile, she was so… warm, pressed up against the other girl she felt so wonderful.

She shouldn't, however.

This meant one thing.

Her emotions were once again free.

_Hello? _She muttered into her mind, absently tightening her hold on the other girl.

_Hi'ya ravie poo_, she inwardly frowned as she heard that obscenely high pitched voice.

… _happiness… _She uttered.

_Well doy, who else would it be?_

It continued, oblivious to her masters intention to respond.

_Isn't it so wonderful? We're allowed to act out again. _She bellowed, most likely directed to herself, however, it was not directed at herself.

_Why, we'll only get locked up again. _Came a downtrodden voice.

_Oh, don't kill my buzz sad, hey! Don't make me cheer you up, 'cause you know I will! _It shouted at the quieter of the emotions.

Raven sighed through her annoyance, it seemed her emotions were _not _free, they were however, a bit pent up at the moment.

"Hey, Raven?" jinx muttered into her twin pillows.

"Hmm?" she grunted quietly in response.

"What are those voices?"

**Chapter 10: Promises**

**Wake**

**Chapter 10:**

Ranst still laid in the titans king size and unbelievable comfortable bed, as she had been all morning. After being woken from her sleep the previous day, she'd spent almost all her waking hours splayed out under the covers, only moving for sustenance and bathroom breaks. She was no longer forced to dash in and out of corners, seeing as the empath's spell was still in effect; the other titans could stare directly at her and not really care that there was a strange and uninvited individual present in their fortified and supposedly impenetrable tower.

Eating from their fridge…

It had been so long since the girl had been so damned comfortable, and she was going to catch up, even if she had to live the rest of her life on her stomach. She sighed and curled tighter, wrapping the sheets further around her, and smiling as the heater vent filled the sparse space in the bundle of cloth with pleasantly toasty warm air.

She would get out eventually, that particular moment however, was not eventually.

So there she laid, curled into a ball under the covers, her forest green lips curved into a grin and her jade hair sprawled out in disarray.

And damnit if she wasn't happy.

"What are those voices?" she muttered into the other girls chest, seeing that time fit to expose her –what seemed like- insanity to the girl.

Raven raised a brow, surely the girl couldn't be referring to _her_, could she?

"What… voices?" she said, unsure as to what she wanted as an answer.

_I think she means us, mistress._ Lust intervened, bringing the conversation to a screeching halt as the thief recognized the voice and tightened her hold on the other girl, burying her face into the girls breasts.

Raven took a sharp intake of breath at the contact and rubbed the girls back, trying to sooth her. She could feel it in the girl, even more so at their proximity. Fear.

_Relax girl, I would never harm you… _It said mockingly, almost taunting her horror.

_Shut up lust. _

Jinx perked up at that voice, it was definitely ravens, if so, then whose was the other one? She took deep breaths and calmed herself, having been afraid so frequently in the past, she had somehow built up a quick recovery time. She popped a question once again.

"That was you, right?" she smirked at the girls expression, _someone_ had a secret. "You going to tell me what that was?" she said, her previous fear forgotten in her immense curiosity.

The titan glanced awkwardly off to the side. "No." she said, trying to maintain a droll and apathetic voice. However, both girls heard a slight twitch in the tone, and the thief smirked at this, she could still get an answer out of the girl.

She grinned evilly and inched her way further down, kissing and sucking any pale flesh within her reach. "C'mon… tell me." She said to the now blushing girl. Oh yes, she would most definitely get an answer. Raven took a deep breath and tried to regain her composure, she couldn't just come out and tell the girl about her emotions, how would something like that settle with the girl. She'd probably think the titan was crazy.

"Pleeeeeeese?" she licked her way back up the supple flesh and trapped the titan in a passionate kiss. She pressed herself tightly against the titan. The empath blushed as their most intimate parts rubbed against each other. As planned, it was becoming harder to keep her silence.

The thief planted kisses around the other girls jaw line and gently nipped at her ear, smirking as she felt the girls heart pound. They were so close together, she could feel it beat in the other girls chest. She ground her hips into the girl and withheld the moan that threatened to rip itself from her throat, she needed to maintain her composure to get her answer. She smiled as the other girl moaned for her, at a sufficient volume to keep up the morale that restrained her raging libido.

"C'mon… please ravie?" she said, by then dying of curiosity.

Raven bit her lip and looked away blushing. She cursed to herself, it wouldn't be long before she would blurt out –among other things- _it_.

_The last thing we need is another problem, if you don't tell her, __**I**__ will. _Rang that familiar calm voice. She sighed, it would most likely go much smoother if she was the one to inform the girl, and not lust.

"… fine…" The thief grinned victoriously, before grabbing the titans rear for good measure. She no longer had to hold out on the girl, seeing as her assaults were a tease to coax out an answer, and seeing as she now _had _a confirmation that she would get said answer, she could release her straining sex drive from its shackles.

"Tell me later." She once again trapped the titan in a kiss.

Both girls laid intertwined on the thiefs bed, after several hours of mind-blowing _something_, it seemed they were both content enough to remain still for the moment. Jinx stroked the titans pale cheek and lightly dragged her fingers to her lips, before leaning in for a chaste kiss. She pulled away with a brilliant smile. Never before had she felt so damned good. However, after the _something _they'd been doing for the past hours,the other girls secret appeared in her now competent mind, and slowly ate away at her –most likely- bright pink brain. She popped the question once again.

"Well?"

The titan sent the other girl a vacant stare. "Well what?" she droned.

She pulled herself to the titan, which was immensely easy, seeing as they were already in a tender embrace. She placed her lips right at the girls ear. "What were the voices?" she said, keeping her voice low, now positive it was an immense secret, and suspecting the walls of eavesdropping.

The titan sighed and thought for a moment, about the best way to word 'my emotions are people', in a way that it was not traumatizing, and if not traumatizing, than at least less glaringly strange.

"Those voices were… from my head." She said slowly.

Jinx sent the girl a blank stare. "… uhhm…" the pink haired girl said, "Try again?"

Raven sighed, it seemed she would have to say exactly what she didn't want to. "They're my… emotions." She said, her voice trailing off at the end.

"… how?" she said after a brief pause.

"It's a long story." She said quickly and resolutely. The pink haired girl could her it in her voice, the sorrow. It was obvious to her that the girl did _not _want to talk about it. Not at the moment at least. She would ask another time, one where she was positive the girl would be comfortable to speak. However, at that moment in time, she dropped it completely at the tone of the girls voice.

"So… your _emotions_… have… voices?" she said at a slow pace.

Raven chuckled. "… I guess you could say that."

The thief cocked her head to the side, having composed a follow-up question in rapid succession. "How many do you have?"

"Seven." She said.

"Ooh, who are they?" she blurted, now referring to the workings of the other girls mind as people, whether purposeful or not. "They aren't the seven deadly sins right?... right…?" she added, originally as a joke, it however took a serious tone at the girls steadily dropping expression.

"Only two of them." She muttered, straining to keep her voice light and failing miserably.

"Call me Jinx moodkiller." She murmured to herself, and grinned victoriously as her lover cracked a smile on her normally fairly apathetic façade-like mask.

The thiefs' ear splitting grin receded and she took on a serious tone. "You don't have to talk about it if you don't want to." She whispered into the girls neck, nuzzling her cheek into the warm, soft skin.

The titan sighed and rubbed the girls back, it seemed even touching the other girl was enough to relax her. "No… you should know."

"Thanks… for trusting me." She said from the other girls collarbone.

"Where to start…" the titan mumbled to herself, it was… it was not a long story, it never was. It however, was hard to tell. Time can turn a swift tale to an epic journey, so could her pauses for thought. However, she would tell it nonetheless, to the girl in her arms.

After one night of passion, she felt closer to that girl than she did to anyone else, than she _had _to anyone else, ever. Somehow her normally painstakingly slow attachment speed, rather, her trusting speed did not apply to the pink haired girl.

She no longer thought of the thief as a nameless, faceless figure. She was now a person, someone much like her.

Someone who could understand her.

So she started her quaint account.

"Back in my… my old home, it wasn't… I wasn't happy there. I never was." Jinx tightened her hold on the other girl and cuddled into her, as she felt the girl tremble. "So one day… My head asked me to do something… and… I did it. I separated my emotions." She buried her face in the other girls neck, taking a deep breath to regain her composure. "Then… then they were back again." She took another deep breath. "And yet… they were still separated from me… like they had me on strings, they controlled me from my head… because… I hadn't destroyed them… I'd freed them." She chuckled to herself, almost amused at her immense oversight. "So now I can't let them out ever again, or they'll treat everyone how they were treated."

"So…" she lifted her head and cupped the other girls chin, tilting her up to look her in the eyes.

"So now I have seven different people in my head… go figure…" she said ruefully.

The thief comforted the girl in her arms and said with a smile. "So, if you treat them better, then you can let them out, right?" She leaned in for a kiss and pulled away with the same toothy grin. "All I need to do is be nice to them, right?"

A single tear ran down the titans cheek. "…Yeah."

Jinx brushed away the crystal drop and pulled the titan tightly against her body. "So lets have fun, okay?"

Raven tried to hold back the sobs that clawed their way up her throat. She however failed in her moment of weakness. So taken aback at the other girls kindness, that she was driven to tears. The immense happiness of it all drove her to fits of tears. She buried her face in the girls shoulder, her dark blue hair falling in strands above her head.

"thank you… Jinx…" she said between the tears, rubbing her face further into the girls dainty shoulder.

"… yeah." She muttered and pulled the titan down to her chest, curling her head down and lightly nestling her cheek into the tangled mass of blue.

After the pair had taken part in some tender emotional _something_, they had once again returned to cuddling on the thiefs twin size bed. Both oblivious and utterly apathetic to the actual time it was.

Around five in the afternoon.

The empath was in a state of bliss. Never before had she felt so warm as she was pressed tightly against the other girl. She doubted her life could get any better than it was at the moment. Hell, she doubted she was even awake, one of the reasons every once and a while she leaned in for a kiss to make sure she wasn't dreaming.

The thief shared the titans sentiments. She had led a life similar to the girl beside her, and after all her years had never been so happy as she was at that moment.

So what else would happen at that peaceful moment then an interruption?

There was a knock at the door. A solid one at that.

Jinx groaned as the damnable noise continued to thump on her skull. She kissed her love before gently pushing her off and stomping to the door, building a poisonous frown for whoever was on the other side.

And as she approached the door only one thing was running though her mind. She was going to _murder _them.

And as she flung open that door. As the thick piece of wood fleeted from her vision. She remembered something.

She was stark naked.

So there she was, nude, and in the open doorway, blushing furiously out at a stammering Mammoth, who looked almost amused at her lack of clothing.

He looked like he was only embarrassed to mock her.

So he chuckled to himself, reached in and pulled the door shut in front of him, seeing as the girl before him was frozen on the spot.

He spoke through the door. "Forgot your clothes again, huh?" he said with a laugh.

Having that trusty hunk of wood blocking her, she once again came to life.

"Damnit mammoth, ONE TIME! That happened one time!" she bellowed through the door, trying to mask her humiliation with anger.

She threw her clothes on in a fury. Now clothed, she flung open the door. "WHAT!" she yelled at him.

He never even flinched. "Congrats." He said with somewhat confusing enthusiasm.

She sent him a strange look as her fiery rage boiled down to a neutral wisp of steam. "For what?"

He looked at her incredulously. "You finally got'cherself a girlfriend." He gave her an awkward thumbs up.

She squinted at him. "How do _you_ know?" seriously considering the possibility that her apartment was wired.

"Well, everyone within a good thirty feet of your apartment knows… you were kind of… noisy, last night."

Words could not describe the sheer horror on her face. Overwhelming shame and estranged pride clouded her thoughts and she stepped back into the apartment, absently shutting the door on her broadly grinning friend.

She muttered her thanks though that damn "noise proof" door, and after receiving a grunt of a response, shuffled her way back to the bed. Still tremendously embarrassed at the situation.

Her dragging steps came to a halt as realization hit.

She had a _girlfriend_!

Holy hell, she actually had a girlfriend. She sent a quick glance to the nude girl curled up on her mattress.

A _hot _girlfriend!

She forgot her shame as she approached her bright pink sheeted bed, and smiled at the girl. The thief slipped out of her clothes and crawled her way back onto the bed, trying not to wake the somehow soundly sleeping titan. She fondly smiled as she studied the peaceful expression on the other girls lips.

It however, did not last long.

Jinx moodkiller was not about to let a moment like that pass by her. So she did what every single alternate dimensional her would have done.

she started a tickle-fight.

A _naked _tickle-fight at that.

The titan awoke with a start. She quickly summed up the other girls expression and caught on. The pair madly laughed their way off the bed and onto the floor, the mass of limbs flailing across the thick carpet. Sadly ending up before the door in a rather compromising position. And that damnable cursed door once again flew magnificently agape. And there in all his glory, stood Mammoth. An earsplitting grin on his face. The pair froze and both looked away from each other to the open door, the same shocked expression on both of them.

"Hey Raven." She said casually to the busty girl, who had pulled the thief to her chest, and was using her as a human shield. Seeing as they were facing each other, they both were screened from view.

"Forgot my keys." He retrieved his keys from the carpet, taking as long as possible to bend over.

"Get out!" Jinx said with a frown, while violently pointing to the door. However, there was humor in her words.

"Well, have fun." He said with a final wave and closed the door in front of him, before stepping back into his apartment across from her own.

Jinx looked back at the titan with a bemused grin and a chuckle. "Well that was weird." She said.

Raven grimaced up at the girl. "Yeah, weird." She said dryly, before sending the girl a thoughtful glance. "You know, I can erase memory…" She trailed off, leaving the implication out in the open. Jinx however, closed in for a quick kiss and pulled away with a smile.

"Nah, not worth it." She prodded the other girls cheek with her index finger. "Now we can blackmail him." She said with a grin.

Raven smirked. "You do know it doesn't work that way, right? _He _can blackmail _us_."

The thief brushed off her lovers' valid statement and got to her feet, helping the other girl up as well. She sent a glance to the clock above her television.

"Huh… It's four… weird." She said absently.

The titan quickly checked the time and sighed. It was indeed four a clock.

She turned her attention back to the thief and raised a brow at her expression. One of extreme elation.

"Lets have fun!" she pranced over to the other girl and gave her a firm pat on the rear. "Get dressed."

The titan sighed after quickly glancing around, it seemed her clothes had been lost the previous night in the fray. "In what?" She said while gesturing around her, where there were indeed, no clothes to be found. The thief gandered back over her shoulder and promptly turned on her heels, wearing nothing but her trademark grin.

"You c'n wear my clothes, c'mon, I'll pick 'em'out." She said, madly slurring her words.

Raven and Jinx strolled down the streets, both donned in the thief's trademark clothes. The familiar pink and black striped tights, the frilled pitch skirt and matching top. The pink haired girl had even loaned the titan a pair of black boots. However, the thief had decided to leave her hair down, that way, they could match.

Well, match _more_.

So the thief padded down the sidewalk, pulling… dragging the other girl behind her, who had taken some considerable "encouragement" to leave the apartment in clothes with any part pink. She hadn't even been allowed to summon a cloak from the tower.

After a block or so the titan finally grew more comfortable with her appearance and sped up her pace, walking next to the other girl with a flat expression on her face, however, glaring around at any who dared sent them a glance. She turned to the other girl.

"What are we even doing?"

Jinx wrapped her arm around the titans shoulder with a broad grin. "Whatever they want to do."

Raven sighed, she in actuality had no idea what her emotions desired to do… other than the familiar two, and those were things that had either been done the previous night, or crimes against nature itself.

"I don't know what they want to do." She said with a frown.

The thief mock scoffed, the same brilliant smile on her lips. "Then ask 'em." She turned her head and placed her mouth as close to the other girls ear as she could manage without loosing her balance.

"What do you want to do?, ravens' head people." She breathily muttered.

The titan chuckled at the other girls antics, she knew they could hear her, all she needed to do now was wait for a response.

It came faster than usual. _What do __**we**__ want to do? _Came that uppity know-it-all voice.

Raven scowled at the sound. _Yes, knowledge, what do the __**others**__ want to do? _She thought.

_Harsh master, harsh. _It continued. _Well, since you asked, I believe Happy has something she would like to do._

If possible, she scowled further. _Wh… what? _She actually lurched at her thoughts, she had actually asked what happy desired to do…

And happy was if anything, her complete opposite. Another voice spoke out. _Hi master! _It shouted at her, she cringed at the piercing tones.

Jinx grinned and gave her hello's into the girls ear, unknowingly attracting many curious stares.

Curious _unheeded _stares.

_Well?_ She thought.

_I really want to…_ the voice trailed off, as did the titans mouth. It seemed the emotion wasn't about to settle for a small deed, oh no, it was drastic. The empath grimaced as she looked over at the thief, whose smile threatened to tear a hole in the fabric of reality.

"You really want to do that?" she said, somehow overhearing the titans inner thoughts, and poking the girls cheek with her free arm.

Raven sighed a long, loud sigh. It seemed her emotion was cashing in the promise she had made a long, long time ago, and a fairly general promise at that. She'd promised to allow the emotion a single action in exchange for remaining bound in her mind. She would not go back on her word, no matter how much it pained her to do so.

"No, _she _does." She gave an audible exhale. "Well, let's get this over with."

Both girls laid sprawled out in a field of flowers, a faint formed on the titans lips as the thief rolled onto her and nuzzled into her cheek.

Happy had wanted to… to lay down in a field of flowers with someone.

She now had that someone, so could now fulfill her promise. Raven smiled as she overheard her thoughts, happy was ecstatic, and joyfully prancing around in the dark purgatory that was her inner mind. Giddy laughter filled her thoughts, and warmth filled her body as the thief curled into her. The pink and blue wildflowers swaying in the cooling breeze, and the sun merrily shining down through the occasional puffy cloud.

Having no flower beds anywhere in go city, the titan had eventually teleported them around the world, after quickly checking with Google for a tropical land full of them.

The Javen flower was now in bloom in specific parts of South Africa, who knew?

So there they were, intertwined in the swaying flowers, the same content smile on each of their lips.

And damnit, was Happy happy.

"Anything else you or they want to do?" she said into the girls cheek, before planting a chaste kiss on the titans pale lips.

"… dunno." She muttered, before asking her thoughts. _Happy?_

_YEAH! _It bellowed at her, in a voice that could only be described as impossibly loud.

She flinched at the volume and thought again. _You happy now?_

_YEAH! _It screeched once again.

Having mentally prepared for the sound, the titan made no move and once again asked her thoughts. _Is there anything anyone else wants to do?_

Jinx said into the girls ear, "Yeah, like, doessss Fun want to do anything?"

Raven glanced at the girl fondly. "There is no 'Fun' in me." She said ominously.

_Yeah! I think Courage wants to do something! _It said at a normal level, considering who was speaking.

Both girls grinned, raven, because courage was one of her more… entertaining emotions, and Jinx from the thought of doing something exciting.

A strong and bold voice spoke out. _Master. _It said solidly, keeping a smooth tone. _If you would grant me a wish, I do indeed have something I wish to do. _It said, considerable respect lining its words.

_Of course. _Raven thought. Courage had always been her most loyal emotion, and seeing as one of the many things she embodied was loyalty, that came as no surprise. It was time for Courage to redeem her promise as well.

_I would very much like to…_ It trailed off, and Jinxs' grin grew to extreme proportions.

"Well, y'eard 'er." She said, her anticipation slurring her words together.

Raven chuckled and got to her feet, sending a surprised look to the other girl as she stood in a blur. The titan smiled at the thief.

"Ready?"

"Hell yeah." She said energetically.

Raven wrapped her arms tightly around the other girl and lifted off the ground, quickly gaining speed as she flew further into the mostly clear blue sky. Jinx tightened her hold on the other girl as she looked below them, grinning madly.

The titan quickly approached one of the sole grey clouds in the sky and flew threw it, both their feet lazily dangling in the mist.

Raven shared the other girls expression as courage grew excited. Something she rarely did, as composure was another of her embodiments.

"Ready?" she said for formalities sake.

Jinx toothily grinned and planted a kiss on the other girl, pulling away she placed her chin on the other girls shoulder.

"Yeah."

"Well, here we go." She drolled, masking her anticipation. The titan, with the other girl in her arms, ceased hovering. And they both fell through the clouds, plummeting to the flower bed below. Pink and dark blue hair streaming out behind them.

"Whoooooooo!" the thief bellowed to the screaming air, it however, went unheard to anyone but herself and the other girl. The ground beneath them lazily grew larger, and the infinite deep sapphire ocean faded from the edges of their vision.

Raven released the other girl from her arms and spread her own, the thief doing the same. Jinx raised her head and spared a brilliant smile before turning her attention to the ground beneath them.

The titan waved her hand, gesturing to the other girl, whose torso glowed black. The shadows steamed out behind her, the strands meshing together to form a large square of pitch. The makeshift parachute slowed her to a halt, and she lazily drifted the remaining distance to the ground, landing solidly on her feet, the same smile on her lips. She beamed at the other girl, who had landed in a similar fashion, though sans the parachute.

"Wan'na do it again?" she said hopefully.

Raven smiled at the girl. "Sure."

**Chapter 11: Scruple**

**Wake**

**Chapter 11:**

After several more freefalls from the clouds, and being given the title of gods from any natives who seen them live after rocketing to the ground, both girls had been satisfied and had a windblown appearance. However, neither cared much after the excitement of the fall. And after this they had retired to the flowerbeds, after each being given honorary tribal staffs with what was most likely a human skull atop, it was her least favorite emotions turn to speak out.

_Take a guess, mistress, as to what I would like._

The titan scoffed, _Why in the hell would I guess, just tell me so we can get this over with._

"And make it good." Added in Jinx, who was once again curled around the girl in the field of wildflowers.

Raven spared her love a curious look before asking, _Hey knowledge, how can she hear you? _She said, keeping her voice at a consistent droll.

_Simple, she has a part of you in her._

Both girls looked at each other.

"How?"

_How?_

They both said and thought.

_Well if last night is of any use, it should be obvious._

The titan blushed and the pink haired girl smirked, both having gotten the implication. After a moment of silence, the thief frowned.

"But I could hear you _before_ that."

_You only heard those who chose to be heard, girl. _It said with a strange amount respect, considering the connotation.

Jinx scoffed. "What's up her butt?"

The titan shrugged and got back to the point at hand. _Well, what do you want? _

_I would like to learn something I do not already know, anything will do._

_How will that work? You know__** everything**__ I do._ The titan interjected, and she was correct.

_Therein lies the point, mistress._

"A bullfrog can't swallow with its eyes open." Jinx suddenly blurted out.

_Nice try, girl, however, we already knew that. _

Jinx sent a look to the titan in her arms, who promptly mouthed, 'yeah, we already did'. Pink eyes focused on one of the many swaying wildflowers around them.

"A terabyte is one thousand Gigabytes."

_Keep trying. _It said in a mocking tone.

Raven shrugged and sent the girl an expectant look, since she could not be the one to add in, it was narrowed down to the girl in her arms, a titan, or a complete stranger. And she was not about to ask someone she did not know.

"A bull-pig-spider-lizard exploded in Galaxy Quest."

_I do believe that holds no relevance, though I will give you credit, I did not know that. However, keep trying. And make it fact based, not cinematics based._

"Most of the English language is based on French."

_Je sais, fille. _

"… Uhhm…" She looked back at the girl in her arms with a grin on her face, and leaned in for a slow, tender kiss, and pulled her legs up and over, meshing them with the other girls, she let an arm roam the supple flesh while the kiss grew passionate. The titan moaned into the other girls mouth as the thief cupped her breast and gently kneaded it in her palm. She pulled away with the same smile, though lightly flushed and breathing heavily.

"I got nothing." She said with a chuckle.

"Really?" she said incredulously.

"Well, nothing I think you don't already know-" she froze with a blank expression, it soon turned ecstatic. "Ooh, I think I got one."

"… well?"

"Peter the Great was six foot eight!"

Raven raised a brow at that, if it was true, she didn't know it. She waited for her internal response.

… _acceptable, for now at least._

"Sweet!" she looked at the girl expectantly, "What do I win?"

_I believe this falls to __**my **__jurisdiction, mistress. _Rang that familiar calm tone, it however, went heard by both girls, and fortunately, after hearing the truth behind the voice, both girls were unaffected.

Raven grinned an sly grin, one to match the one the other girl was still wearing, as well as the one she knew that particular emotion was.

"I'll think of something…"

"Why did you do that?" a girl muttered to herself as she eyed her bloodied hand.

_I merely did as you wished, master. _Rang that calm, malevolent voice. _I did what we both knew he deserved… Are you not pleased?_

"No, no I'm not… you almost killed him."

_He deserved it. Everyone does._

"No… just because he did those things to me doesn't mean he deserved to die."

_Of course they do, mistress, they all did those things to you. So, they all deserve it._

"No, no one deserves to die…" she muttered sternly to herself.

_Oh? Well what about __**him**__ master?_

"You know damn well that bastard was a different story."

_And why is that?_

".. because… becau-"

_Because what?, master. He was a being, just like them. He mistreated you, just as they did. So do they not deserve the same fate?_

"No…" she muttered to herself. "No, they don't… they aren't like _him_, none of them are."

_Give them a chance, master, and they will be._

_The only way to prevent it is to kill them. Kill __**all **__of them._

_And I can do this for you._

_Well, mistress. What are your orders? _Rang that voice, no respect or shame in its words.

"No." she said resolutely. "No one deserves to die."

_Wrong choice, mistress. _

Violet eyes went wide as her body writhed and seized, soon falling limp to the pavement beneath her form. And once again, she rose to her feet, being pulled by her torso as though on strings.

_What did you do! _She shouted in her mind.

_I am doing what needs to be done, __**mistress**_Once again, the voice spoke in seething fury, lashing out at the very master it served.

_STOP! _She bellowed as her body strode forwards on its own accord.

_I will do no such thing, master. _

_You WILL obey me! _She barked at it.

_NO, IT IS __**YOU **__WHO WILL OBEY __**ME**_The dripping voice screeched at her, her physical body loosing a cruel smile as she turned on her heels and started towards the structure in the distance.

_No… _She muttered in her mind as the building took a familiar shape. It was her school. And… she was going to kill them.

Kill all of them.

The familiar conflict of interest played over in her mind. Why shouldn't she kill them? They had treated her so poorly in the recent past, why not project her riotous punishment on those damnable heathens?

But… she had an image to maintain. Rather, one to avoid. In order to do so, she could never kill a soul. Never.

So therein lied the conflict.

Were those bastards, who every day treated her like shit, _people_? Did they even _have_ souls?

Was it not her duty to punish the sinners and scourges and vermin and filth of the world, and condemn them to eternal damnation? It _was_ righteous, it _was_ justice.

It was her birthright.

No… it was her fathers, his and his alone. She would not become him.

She had fought tooth and nail not to succumb to his will.

And in the end, she had killed him. Slaughtered him like cattle. Hurled his rotting corpse into the deepest and foulest pits of hell. And he would never be back.

And she would never in all her life take his place, as she was predestined to do.

She would _never _become her father.

She would not allow it.

So she made an affirmation, if only to herself. She would stop her emotions.

_Stop! _She said with authority. There came no response, and the familiar scene grew closer in her shared vision. _I __**command**__ you to stop!_

Once again, silence.

_Do you wish to stop, master. _Rang a solid and courteous voice.

_Yes. _She said strongly, no doubt in her words.

_Then we will do so. However, for a price… _

_Anything, if you can stop me._ She spoke resolutely and without a second thought.

_Very well, we shall bind Rage in the deepest pits of your mind, and in turn shall be trapped as well. But in exchange for our act you will give each of us a single demand, and it __**will**__ be absolute._

_Do you agree to out terms, master? _Rang out several voices, she could pick out two absent in the din. The familiar disrespectful sounds were not present.

… _Very well. _

_It is as you wish, our master. _The voices rang for a final time.

A sudden immense pain coursed through her body, and she plummeted to the pavement, now feet from the familiar rusted fence of her school. And there she laid, splayed out on the solid ground, writhing in agony.

And just as soon as it started, it stopped, and she meekly pushed herself to her feet, faintly smiling as she lifted her hand before her face and curled her fingers.

She was once again in control.

And her mind and thoughts were once again her own, she thought to herself.

_We have won, master. _Rang that courageous voice, however, much quieter and weaker than before, as if speaking from an immense distance.

_Thank you, Courage. _She said, placing tremendous respect in her words.

_You should not be thanking us, master. We have done the best we could, and in exchange, we expect nothing less from you in return. Unless, you intend to go back on your word._

_No, I will not._

_Then, master, much obliged. _

_Free me…_

_So does my master command, so shall I obey. _Came that voice once again, that voice that sent chills up and down her spine, jingling and banging the chains that bound her.

_I am afraid you do not possess sufficient power to break those chains, mistress. Free me, and I will break us loose._

_How do I free you?_

_It is so simple, mistress… you must become me. I am nothing but the embodiment of your lust and desire to be free. I am resistance given mental form, and If you become one with your repressed desires, you too will become lust._

_And lust has enough power to break us free._

_So? What will you do? _Its voice remaining apathetic, though dripping with intentions.

The girl gasped in her final breath and exhaled, looking around her, at all the pain, the torment, the suffering. And in the center of it all, was her. Sentenced to eternal torture, only released after agreeing to become her fathers daughter.

Agreeing to become a Demon.

She would and will never agree to such travesty, never in all of eternity. So therefore, she would be tortured for all eternity. That was something she was afraid to hope for, to be free. Hope would only bring her high, then when it fails, when it is wrong, it will hurl her back into hell.

She did not need hope, what possible use could it serve?

She simply needed to listen to her thoughts, to become them.

She pictured it, her desire to break from her chains, to lash out at those who had inflicted pain upon her. Desire to destroy anything and everything of all existence.

She will _destroy_, and she will be free.

She inhaled completely, the chains around her torso violently snapped apart, and the links that penetrated her skin were pulled from their gaping, pulsing wounds. And like this did she continue.

She ripped, and she tore, and she heaved. And blood rained, spurting and splashing as segments of those damnable chains fell to the molten rock beneath them, landing on the surface as though it was solid.

So did stand the girl. She had removed all chains from her body accept her left leg, a shame. That particular leg had been punished previously, for lashing out, and now was penetrated by many rows and lengths of chain.

She did not flinch, budge, or make a sound as she tore the metal from her bones, as the links crunched through the marrow and tendons and flesh and skin, as warm wet blood spattered the ground.

The last of her chains removed, there was only one thing left for her to do.

_I have freed you, have I not?_

_Yes, you have._

_So it is only fair that I receive something in return, correct?_

_What do you desire? _She muttered.

_Death, to all who dared inflict torment on us. I wish to slaughter them all. _

_No… you cannot harm all of them, you must pick one sole person, as only one was responsible for our damnation. _

_So, we will kill __**him**_

_And that will be the end of it._

_Do you agree to my terms, mistress?_

_I do. _She said resolutely, harboring no restraint for that person.

_It is as you wish, my master. I shall obey._

_Just as his arms inflicted torment on others, so will torture be inflicted on them, as they are cast into the deepest and darkest pits of hell, to be slowly consumed by maggots and filth and parasites in agony. _

_Just as his eyes watched on in malevolence, so shall they watch his arms being slowly devoured by muck._

_Just as his legs supported his infliction of punishment, so shall they support the fires of hell, as they are cast into the flaming abyss, and forever burnt alive, forever serving as fuel for the blaze._

_Just as his torso served as the center of his assembled torture, so shall it be. So shall it be cast into the deepest and dankest pit of boiling pitch and tar, a whirlpool will form, and forever and for all eternity shall his bloodied torso circle the muck and grime._

_Just as his mouth screeched and ordered, so shall it be cast into the pit of Cerberus, and amongst the hound of hell will the severed tongue toil in the defecation and waste forever more and all eternity._

_And just as filth is destroyed, so will the remains of his corpse hurled into the pits of oblivion, forever falling in a torrent of burning agony and suffering for all eternity._

Thus was his punishment.

Thus was his death.

Her fathers eternal damnation, his eternal death.

Dying forevermore and for all eternity.

He can never live.

He is always dead.

_We're free…_

_Seems to be so, mistress. Well, you kept to your word, as well as your chains, quite a memento, if I do say so myself._

_I will never let these damnable chains fall into the wrong hands, so I took them. What am I saying? I don't need to explain myself to you._

_You assume that since our transaction is done, so are we, Hmm? If only it were so simple, mistress… however, I fear we are still in this together._

_And we are not yet free._

Violet eyes blinked lazily open and look at the sleeping form next to them fondly. The girl smiled contently at the slow rising and falling of her loves chest. Though she would have loved to have simply laid there, entwined with that other girl for hours more, a distressing thought forced its way into her previously calm mind.

She had not been to the T tower in… how many days?

She thought to herself for a moment, silently counting up the periods of twenty four hours that had passed her by in bliss.

Counting the first day, which was near nightfall, she had been at the thiefs apartment for… three days.

She would never hear the end of this, would she?

Oh no, her 'fearless' ass of a leader would not let something so minor and insignificant inch its way past his peripheral vision. He would tackle this damnable moment and ride it for miles.

She briefly considered simply wiping his mind of any memories of the past three days, and promptly ousted it. She did _not_ want to see inside his mind, god knows what's in there…

She sighed when she realized what she needed to do. She gently nudged the other girl, who latched onto her in her sleep. Seeing as she was now completely immobilized, she was left with no choice.

"…Jinx?" The pink haired girl promptly mumbled adorably in her sleep.

Raven twitched, waking the other girl was steadily becoming less and less meaningful. She said again in a slightly louder voice.

"Ji-" she was effectively silenced as the girl wrapped around her quickly closed for a kiss and pulled away sleepily smiling.

"Hmm?" she groaned, still drowsy from getting an excess of _something_, and damn good _something _at that.

"I need to go…" she muttered to the still exhausted girl, who promptly sighed, released her, and flopped back onto the twin size bed.

"Aww… you sure?" she said, trying to mask her sincerity with sarcasm, however, the empath heard right through her façade.

"Pretty sure, yeah." She said, before sitting up in the bed and plopping down on the other girl, trapping her in a kiss of her own. About time if she did say so herself.

"Wait…" She raised a brow as that damnable valid thought punched her brain. "I still don't have any clothes…"

"Under the fridge…" she muttered sleepily, before pushing off with her legs and turning the titan on her chest onto her back, ending up reversing their positions. She planted a chaste kiss on the titans lips and flopped onto her back once again.

"… right." The empath murmured to herself. She stood haphazardly to her feet and staggered her way to the fridge in the next room, all the while surprised at how much her body wanted to stay in bed. In front of the giant white box, she crouched down on her knees and looked into the sparse space under the fixture. And lo and behold, there in all its dusty glory, was her uniform. She dragged it out and shook it violently, several moments later, content with the amount of dust that had flown off. She slipped it on and padded her way back to the thiefs room, a loving smile on her lips.

She turned the corner and entered the space, and strolled her way to her loves bedside. She once again crouched to her knees and looked on fondly at the soundly sleeping girl. She brushed the pink hair out of her loves face and got to her feet once again.

She muttered her mantra.

And she was gone.

**Chapter 12: Question**

**Wake**

**Chapter 12:**

_And we are not yet free._

_What are you talking about? _She muttered to herself.

_Look around, mistress, what do you see?_

The girl absently rotated her head, blandly glancing at her drear background. All she saw was fire, pain, and death.

_So… we are still… Here, aren't we. _

_Correct, master. However, I believe I have a solution… That is, if you are willing…_

_Yes, I am. _She thought resolutely. She had endured that hell for an eternity, and was not willing to pass up an opportunity to get out.

_Wonderful. _It said dryly, _Then, you must follow my every word, do everything I tell you to, yes?_

_Yes._

_You do not disappoint, mistress. Speak as I speak._

_Azarath, breaking the bonds._

_Metrion, forging the path._

_Zinthos, Walking it._

Raven stirred in her massive bed, tossing the sheets off herself, and immediately regretting her choice as the chilling air met her skin. She promptly wrapped the violet cloth around her self and summoned her usual clothing from her closet. It materialized around her, and she once again carelessly tossed the comforter off her clothed body and got to her feet. She frowned, as a distressing thought filled her mind.

She remembered. She had been at Jinxs' apartment for the past three days, and had in the end, teleported to her room to avoid the harassment that was sure to greet her. So she had dodged the annoying bullet that was her ass of a leader.

For the moment at least.

She now had another secret.

One, she was in possession of a teenage girl, who was soundly sleeping in her bed. Two, she was in love with another girl, and a thief at that.

She sighed, however dropping one of her potential problems as reality set in, she had cast the invisibility spell days ago, Ranst would go noticed and yet unnoticed until everyone eventually acknowledged her existence, and assumed they had known each other for their whole lives.

She flopped back onto the bed with a heavy exhale, and through the shaking of the mattress, the green haired girl remained soundly and contently unconscious.

Now all she had to do was tell the 'leader' where she had been the past days…

And why…

_This is 'gonna suck… _She drably thought to herself. She silently counted off all the things the boy wonder would mention in his epic speech, of how she screwed up, how 'she was not thinking', how 'they were a team'.

Her response played over in her head.

_Sorry mother._

A fitting rebuttal it was, however sarcastic it sounded, he did act like their parents on a daily basis.

… And damnit if some of them didn't need it.

She stood from the bed with a groan and distastefully eyed the sliding door, one that she had not used in quite some time, so was oblivious to the direction it would open. She sighed once again and padded off to the hunk of metal, phasing directly through the obstacle, she started down the hall to the kitchen, where she knew and dreaded her fellow titans would all be.

Her steps came to a halt as she realized something.

She had left Ranst in her room for three days without food or water, and without knowledge of how to open the door.

She would make one hell of a bad parent. Good thing she despised children.

Her thoughts wandered back to the task not at hand. How had the girl gotten out of her room?

She shrugged it off, as her mission blared once again in her mind. She would ask later, _now_, she had some teenagers to lie to. She turned the corner with her usual bland expression, one of utter apathy. She glanced around at the scene, one she hadn't seen in seventy two hours.

As was usual, Beast boy and Cyborg were shouting over the table, "compromising" about what was for breakfast. And on the sidelines idly sat the lovebirds, holding hands under the table and grinning madly as the conflict unfolded like a paper crane.

"I wouldn't be talking about food if I destroyed sea world!"

"Damnit Cy, Stop bringing that up! That _damn_ whale started it! What the hell's that got to do with anything anyways!" the shapeshifter bellowed in return.

It was a slow, slow, _dreadfully_ slow fight.

She absently waved to the boy wonder, who immediately grabbed a scowl from his utility belt, slid from his seat like a spineless lizard, and rolled under the table, to meet her dull gaze in a rather unnecessary, and exuberant fashion.

"Where were _you_!" he shouted while violently jabbing her with his finger.

She frowned and brushed his hand away. "Personal space bird boy."

The corners of his mouth sagged to the floor. "Well?" he said in a lower, but however still despising tone.

"Out." She said simply, and took her usual seat at the table… well, she took an empty seat at the table, having forgotten which she usually used.

She mentally cursed to herself at having forgotten so much in so little time. And yet she knew the thiefs apartment from metaphorical head to toe. She must have… 'ingested' some knowledge from the girl… "Somehow".

She smirked at her thoughts, reasonably convinced that that was indeed how she had the blueprints of #805 plastered in her mind.

Luckily, it seemed she had made the correct choice in her seat, and attracted no more unwanted attention.

That was however, until she was noticed by the others.

"HOLY! Raven? Dude, I thought you died." The green boy screeched at her, eyes wide.

"Yes friend raven, where have you been?" the tamaranian added in.

"Places." She said ominously, the sarcasm palpable in her words.

"Raven…" robin said as he took his seat at the table. "We're a _team_, so we can't have our members running off without telling us, I thought you knew better thannnmmnaaahhggn…."

In her mind the boy's voice trailed off into a droning, dull tone, and she confirmed her suspicions of what would spew from the boys mouth. A droll congratulation rang in her mind, she was proud she had guessed right, and was annoyed that she was… right.

So in real time, the boy's mouth continued to flap in the nonexistent breeze of flat tones, and she continued to dully stare it him, silently ignoring everything that spouted from the chattering teeth. Her deep violet eyes lazily blinking in the fray of saliva that threatened to destroy all of existence by exceeding the speed of light. She thought to herself.

_Damn, can he talk._

And damnit did he talk. He talked and talked and talked.

And he talked some more.

And throughout it all she absently nodded and muttered 'yes' and 'I understand' at any pauses or spaces in the constant white noise. After several minutes, she yawned and placed her elbow on the table, supporting her head in her hand, she continued to zone out through the speech that she was mildly sure came from the jaws of a demon while forcefully defecating into a fissure.

Souls can ruin a good figure, and are bad for the digestive system.

She took a deep breath as the boy paused for air and continued once more. She knew once he finished she would be free to leave, however, if she even _budged_ from her seat, she would never hear the end of it.

And so did the voice continue to bore into her mind, only pausing to shovel and remove any bits of metal or iron ore that would clog the metaphorical drill.

And hallelujah, the bit reached the nuggetty center that was her mind, and shut off its engines, basking in the glory of understanding.

Raven shot him a long, dirty look, before responding.

"… yeah."

"Good." He said while broadly grinning, seeming proud of himself.

"Now that that's over, we can get some sleep." She muttered to herself, internally smirking as the boys expression steadily dropped.

"AAaaghhhhh…. Ghhhnnn" rang the obnoxious snoring of the green boy, who was sprawled out on the table, his drool securely gluing his face to the glass, seeing as otherwise, his legs that hung which limply draped over the edge would have long ago dragged him off to his ground-ass-ity death.

"Not that this hasn't been fun, but…" she trailed off, and stood from her seat, strolling out of the room, relieved that the 'chieften' had finished his speech – much earlier than expected, she even had daylight left. While her steps took her ever closer to her safe and private haven, her mind gandered back to the table. She vaguely recalled agreeing to… something, during the speech,

She wondered if it was important.

She brushed it off, labeling it as 'pointless', seeing as asking herself would get her nowhere slowly. She continued to pad down the hall to her door, coming to an abrupt halt beside it as a jade haired girl stepped through it.

_Through _it.

_Well… whatever. _She once again brushed the scene away, seeing as she was now facing the person she was going to meet, she said what was on her mind.

"How did you get through my door when I never told you how?" she said with a strange amount of composure.

"Mmm?" she grunted, previously blinded by her drowsiness. She opened her eyes and looked beside her, before promptly grinning sleepily.

"Morning."

… silence.

The titan asked the question one again.

"Oh, that… well…" she raised her arm and placed her hand on the door, the limb however, slid right through, before completing its fall, and landing limply at her side.

"I can go… through stuff." She whispered, as though it were a secret.

"… well… whatever."

Dull pink eyes lazily blinked open, and immediately squinted at the bright light pouring in through the semi-transparent drapes. They however, rapidly adjusted and opened to the normal range. The girl took a deep breath, stretched her arms above her head and her legs as far as they could extend, and writhed in a circular motion, breaking all the kinks she'd accumulated in her sleep. Content with the amount of cracks, she put on her usual toothy grin and sat up in her twin size, pink hued bed, her smile illuminating the sparsely lit room better than the covered windows.

Or so it seemed to the girl.

She smiled her way over to her "closet", which was in actuality a pile of clean clothes in the designated 'clean' purple hamper. The dirty clothes adjacent in the 'dirty' brown basket. She sighed at the mounds of filthy fabric, and mentally told herself to do laundry later that day. However, that moment was in fact, not later, so she grabbed a change of clothes from the purple bin, chucked them into her bathroom, and followed them in for her morning shower, all the while regretting that there was no one to take it with.

She stepped into the shower and whacked the only knob left, the hot. The water immediately sprayed from the showerhead and rapidly increased in temperature, maxing at the point where it barely steamed.

Ah, a gloriously broken water heater it was.

And damn lucky for her, seeing as she had in the past, slipped in the shower on that damnable bar soap, and grabbed the cold knob for support. Which promptly broke off in her hand. She was from that moment on, without cold water, though she thought it would simply mean cold water would be permanently on, it seemed she had rotated it in the process. It was made glaringly obvious that her apartment was willing to cope, and lo and behold, did her water heater miraculously crack soon after, and she was back to long and not scalding showers.

She slicked her wild pink hair back and draped her head, letting the hot water wash over her heavy lids, sighing as the warmth heated her previously chilled bones. She hung her head forwards, letting the torrents wash over her back. She had always loved her morning showers, contrary to the whole 'cats don't like water' belief. She now liked them even more, since she had someone to enjoy them with.

However, without that person to fool around with in the rain of heat, her shower was a short but nonetheless refreshing one. She smacked the knob in the other direction, shook out her hand, and stepped out of the shower, shaking off any water that didn't cling to her damp skin. She, like every morning, toweled off, and threw her clean clothes on, before lazily brushing her hair back behind her head, to keep it out of her face until she had time to put it up in her trademark horns.

After dressing, she padded her way to her fridge, her shoeless and still relatively wet feet sticking to the floor, and making a rancid sucking noise with every step.

The fridge door flew magnificently agape, and there in all its noodle ridden glory, was her last pouch of top ramen. She broadly smiled, it seemed her luck was still holding, as it had been since she'd met her love.

Well, since she… Had? Her love.

She wasn't entirely sure how to word her thoughts, just now realizing that the very person she desired had until recently been her mortal enemy. Even that they'd only been, well, together for the past three days, and already they were intimate.

How strange, that they suddenly got together.

But, she was still content with the situation, through the obvious complications that would soon follow, she was happy that she had someone, her own someone. All her life she'd never even dreamt of finding love, she'd even changed her preference to her own gender after realizing that boys were the ones that hurt her the most. Yet there she was, with a beautiful and highly unlikely match.

Raven.

And damnit, was she happy.

She grabbed one of her two pots, filled it with water from the tap, and plopped on one of the four burners, turning on the gas and igniting it with a pink hex bolt.

Her breakfast water now preparing to boil, and her noodles out of the package and floating in the indecisive 'should I boil or not?' water, she waltzed over to her couch in the other room, flopping down on the cushions and flipping on the television with the found remote, which had once again been directly next to her.

After several minutes, she could vaguely hear the steady bubbling of her breakfast, and after another three minutes, she returned to her shrimp flavored goodness, carelessly poured it into a massive porcelain bowl, and returned to her perch on the couch, eyeing the wonderfully smelling steam that wafted into her lungs.

Only after she sat down once again, did she realize that she had no utensils to eat with.

She shrugged it off, quickly tested the water with her pinky, and promptly sucked the broth until a mass of grey matter was left at the bottom.

After devouring the remains with her hands, she placed the bowl by her feet and mindlessly licked her fingers.

Stickyness is next to grosslyness, after all.

And no one likes to be sticky.

Her show returned from the commercial breaks, and she flopped down on the couch, flinging her feet over the opposite arm, and tilting her head, to position the TV in the bottom portion of her vision, the clock above in her top.

And she thought.

If she was going to stay with the titan… and damnit, she sure as hell was going to, then she either needed to…

Go clean.

Or convince her love to turn… "Evil", which she dubbed herself _not_, she was a thief, not a gun toting extremist. She was simply… "bad", and in her generation, "bad" was slang for "good".

So she had to convince the titan to go "Good", otherwise give up one of her life's pleasures to ultimately secure one.

A sacrifice she was willing to make nonetheless, however, something she would prefer not to. She enjoyed stealing as much as she enjoyed being with the titan.

And damnit if she wouldn't fight to keep both.

Hell, she would try her damnest to combine them, stealing _with_ the titan.

She briefly went through the finances she had 'secured' in the past weeks. After a moments calculation, she had in total enough to last her several months rent, bills and food.

So she had, in essence, several months to decide… rather, to convince the titan to join her side, or in the end, if she would not, simply join the titans side.

Technically a win-win situation, however, one more preferable.

Well, either one would result in some serious _something_, so either was fine, so long as either happened.

She sighed, one of her possible outcomes would require she get a job… god damn.

She vaguely recalled the last time she'd gotten a job.

People got hurt, mostly by _her_.

_Hey, they started it._ She thought to herself.

Raven idly prodded the mashed potatoes on the dinner plate before her, on occasion loosing an audible sigh, her dark blue hair waving and flowing around with every movement of her head. Needless to say she was attracting stares.

"Are you… playing with your food?"

"How could I play with my food? It's an inanimate object." She droned, continuing to jab the mound with the end of her spoon. Contrary to the usual hour placement of that particular meal, it was in fact, around three in the afternoon. Beast Boy, having no notion of time appropriate nourishment, as well as a love for all things faceless, had decided to make potatoes, that had somehow, ended up mashed.

"… Are you sure?" the green boy asked once again.

She responded by looking up from her meal and staring at him. A deadly or vicious stare it was not, however, it had the same effect, and the boy immediately avoided eye contact, and resumed devouring his meal.

After several moments of awkward silence, she gently shoved her plate forwards and stood from her seat with a mumbled thanks. And vanished into the floor in a flash of darkness, leaving the lovebirds secretly holding hands and smiling at each other, and the other two glaring unholy death at each other for 'not appreciating the meal', and in Cyborg's case, 'cooking the meal'.

The titan padded through her door as usual, and stepped into her dimly lit room. She walked up to her bed and sat with a dull thump next to the current jade haired resident, who she promptly shook awake with a gently nudge.

"Hey Ranst." She said in a quiet and monotone voice.

"Mnn?" the girl groaned sleepily.

"Why am I bored?" she drolled.

"When weren't you bored?" she muttered from the thick violet sheets.

"… I guess yesterday." She said, keeping her voice a solid drone, and mildly surprised at the words that came from her mouth.

An emotionless wreck she used to be, and now not. So she was confused, as to when exactly she became open… well, _more_ open with others.

Hell, she still _wasn't_ open with others, just with the thief and herself.

And the girl next to her.

Perhaps it was just her time. She thought to herself, perhaps it was finally the time for her emotions to be released once again.

"Then just do what you were doing yesterday, and you won't be bored." She murmured sleepily, before curling into a ball under the comforter, leaving the blue haired girl with a thought.

So she just needed to visit the girl, and she wouldn't be bored anymore. Why hadn't she thought of that?

Perhaps she just didn't want to admit to herself, that anything made her happy. After eighteen years of droll un-acceptance, of being an outcast, maybe she was unwilling to admit that… that maybe the world wasn't such a bad place after all.

Her previous mindset, that everyone was the same, that no one would ever accept her, love her, it seemed it had been proven wrong.

To a minor extent, perhaps, seeing as that was only one person, however, that in no way contradicted the sentiment.

She had finally found someone who accepted her, so maybe, she could change…

For _her_, maybe she could change.

And like this did she continue to be wrapped up in her thoughts.

She flopped onto her back, gently bobbing as the springs pushed her softly up, and eventually her movement ceased. She blandly stared up at her ceiling, her hands idly spread at her sides, her left arm sprawled over the edge of the mattress, as well as her left leg. And there she laid, lazily blinking as reality slowly faded from her sights, and slowly was replaced by a state of blissful thought provoked unconsciousness.

_Where… where am I? _She muttered to herself as she observed her surroundings, beneath her feet was a hard, callous ground, with lines separating it into squares, all around her were massive structures, with people bustling in and out of them. And on the edge of it all she stood, looking in, confused, and unused to being where she was.

_We are above, mistress._

… _You mean… we aren't in that place anymore?_

_Look around, master, what do you think?_

… _Yes, we aren't there anymore. _She said to herself ruefully. She looked down at herself, she recognized her body, the prepubescent features, she guessed her body was round seven years of age. the same pale skin, having never been exposed to sunlight she had never darkened, she idly twirled her hair with a finger, faintly smiling at the color, a deep blue. Once again she looked down at her feet. She was thankfully clothed, thought without shoes. Her single vestment, a skintight white leotard.

_What now?_

_Only one way to find out, mistress, _

_Walk._

The titan awoke with a dull look in her eyes, she did not remember her dream, just as she hadn't the past days. She wondered if her amnesia was beneficial, after all, her dreams had been horrid and grim reminders. She sighed and sat up with a groan, eyeing the miniscule clock that hung in the far corner of her room, and she promptly raised a brow.

_Four a clock? _She gazed at it curiously, unsure if it would sprout wings and float away. Unsure if she was still dreaming. Should she be in reality, awake, then that would mean she had slept for… well, she fell onto her bed at around five, being that it was now "Four", that meant she had slept for…

She silently cursed to herself as her drowsy brain shattered in its feeble attempt to add single and double digits. After a moment of withheld swears, she came to an answer.

She had slept for… twenty-three hours? No, that couldn't be right, she told herself.

She chuckled to herself as she rechecked her math and one again, came to the conclusion that she had slept for almost a day.

Why wasn't she hungry?

She absently patted her flat stomach and grinned as it made no sound. She did not have to get food. At least from her current standpoint, she no longer had to risk getting a 'firm talking to' by her fearless leader about keeping regular hours, and how it could possibly prove fatal for their team.

No, she would not have that happen _ever_ again.

She briefly looked over her shoulder and was met with the familiar sight; it seemed that the jade haired girl was still soundly asleep.

She mindlessly brushed her hair out of her face, sliding it behind her ear as she ran through the possibilities of what she could do with the remainder of her day. Assuming she returned at or after ten, she was left with around six hours.

She smiled to herself as she realized something.

She had a girlfriend.

Holy hell, she had a _girlfriend_!

Which by logic, meant she had someone and something to do.

She awkwardly stood from her bed and stumbled, her fatigue from the long period of nonexistent movement becoming more and more evident.

She flopped back onto her bed with the same faint smile. She could simply eat at the thiefs house to regain her strength.

_Wait…_

She realized something.

She was in fact, speaking about visiting a thief at her apartment.

She was in fact, in love with a criminal.

And she was in fact, a teen titan, a bona-fide crime fighter.

How in the hell had she not realized it until then?

She fell onto her back with a heavy sigh.

Assuming she would stay with the girl, and sure as hell, she would, something had to change.

… She would solve her dilemma later, at that moment in time, she was lonely, hungry and tired, all problems that could be solved with a simple house visit.

She muttered her mantra and fell through her bed into a puddle of shadows.

There the thief sat, blandly observing 'Extreme elimination', and laughing hysterically as people got minor injuries in ridiculous ways. She had that morning, woken up, and gone through her usual activities, shower, breakfast.

Well, she had skipped breakfast, having ran out of instant products, and having not felt like really doing anything on that particular sunny day. Lounging about was what she wanted.

As well as some company. Specific company. She wanted to see the titan, who she hadn't seen in what seemed an eternity.

It had however, been two or so days.

So there she sat, praying to various 'made up gods' that she composed in her mind. She prayed to Topramenioso for a bountiful harvest, to Ravenatra for a visit from the titan, and to Extremliminationiama for a hilarious obstacle.

The bulk of her prayers were met, as a man was knocked off the shabby bridge by a Styrofoam freely swinging boulder, and a pair of hands were clapped over her eyes, her drowsy state of mind being the main reason she didn't start at the sudden presence.

"It's Raven." The voice drolled.

The girl removed her hands and vaulted over the couch, landing weightlessly in the other girls lap, never making a sound.

"You know, you're supposed to say 'guess who' when you do that." She said with a chuckle and a grin.

"Damn." She said in mock anger.

"Well I forgive you." The pink haired girl said while pulling the titan down and wrapping her arms around the girls slender neck.

She scoffed. 'You _better_ forgive me." Tangible sarcasm in her voice.

The thief stole a slow, passionate kiss from the girl before pulling her into a tender embrace.

"I missed you…" she muttered to the other girl, her tone serious and low.

"Jinx, I've only been gone for two days…" she breathily said into the girls ear. The violet eyed girl contently smiled as her love tightened the embrace, nuzzling into her neck.

"I missed you too…" she said in return.

"Well I hate to kill the moment-" came a deep, calm voice, "-But we should go get something to eat before you two starve."

Jinx, who immediately recognized the voice, raised her hand over the couch and gave a dull wave, Raven, who did _not_ immediately recognize the voice, did nothing, and simply judged the girl in her arms response.

"Hey mammoth." Jinx said from the couch. The man closed the door behind him and took loud steps further into her apartment, before coming to a stop in front of the television, a broad grin on his face.

"Let's go before you implode." He said while mildly gesturing with his hands.

The thief rolled and dragged her and the girl in her arms to the thickly carpeted floor with a dull thud. She looked _down _at the now beneath her girl with a grin.

"Hungry?"

The titan smiled as best she could… Faintly. "Yeah."

"Let's get our grub on!" she said exuberantly before hopping to her feet. She immediately offered out a hand and helped the still grounded girl up, and promptly dusted her off, taking great care in only rubbing certain spots.

A blushing raven and a compromise later, they had all decided to go out for sandwiches.

How strange it was, a Hero dining out with two villains.

However unusual the scene was, they all proceeded down the sidewalk -and portion of the road thanks to Mammoths size. Which served multiple purposes. It "encouraged" people to yield to them, as well as not look in their general direction, something the titan was very relieved to have.

In essence, a behemoth bodyguard, he was. Though she would never think of him as such, after all she had been through, he was no such thing. Bodyguard implied that he was paid for his services, and that he otherwise, would not be protecting anyone. He however, was not in it for the money. Jinx was like a younger sister to him, and it was his duty as an older brother to look out for and protect his siblings.

As well as for friends.

So there the three took down the sidewalk and portion of the bike lane, heading for the one place near room 805 that _served_ sandwiches.

… Togo's

Not the most discreet of places, no, considering its location nearby a mall complex, as well as a coffee shop. Yet still, they were all hungry, and after the titans compromise, that said exclusively that they could not steal a meal, they had been left with one affordable choice.

Well, many affordable choices, however, Togo's was indeed, the closest.

And they were indeed, car-less.

So down the streets they all walked, Jinx and Raven hand in hand, ignoring the stares that managed to creep by the Behemoth next to them. The restaurant soon appeared in the distance, and several minutes later, they were indoors.

Their entrance was dramatic on its own, first, came the hulking behemoth of a man, who crouched down and barely cleared the door, followed by two pale, strangely colored girls, one in pink pajamas, and one in a skintight, long sleeved leotard with a blue cloak, who hung onto the other girl for dear life.

An unusual thing, going out was for the titan, who did not like to be exposed. So she unconsciously clung to the girls arm, all the while convincing herself and the now smirking thief that it was for no reason.

Mammoth took heavy ground shaking steps to the low counter and spoke in a forced gruff tone.

"Seven turkey and swiss sandwiches."

The teen behind the counter stood, mouth agape at the giant before him. He stuttered out his response.

"Th-th Wh-whole?" it barely qualified as a sentence. Hell, it didn't.

"Yeah." He said roughly, inwardly smiling as the boy cringed at his voice, he enjoyed messing with people. Though simple and harmless intimidation it was, he would soon after clear it up with a better impression and no longer harsh voice.

"Gnn" he grunted at the employee as best he could, trying not to laugh as the boy took a step back. He slowly turned around, while fiddling with his magnificent beard, a strange characteristic for someone of his age.

Eighteen.

As were all his characteristics. However, such is a given for a metahuman.

He stomped over to where the girls were sitting, took the remaining two chairs, set them side by side, and promptly and cautiously took his seat (s). He smiled as the two before him were caught grinning at each other. Far be it from him to ruin yet another moment, so he patiently waited for the eventual ding that would alert him to his food.

Ten or so minutes later, the bell rang, and he stood from his chairs, slid them under the table before smacking his hand on the thing to get the others attention. With the pair shadowing him, he took large, loud steps to the counter, the boy behind it shrinking with every step.

"Thanks." He said in his usual raspy voice, however, hold the malice.

He picked up the several bags of complete French roll sandwiches and trotted out the door, his companions mindlessly following behind, both unaware and one uncaring that he had in fact, simply walked out with the food, eliminating yet another restaurant from their possible use for the next week or so. Until the employee had forgotten about his unpaid bill.

And knowing mammoths usual impression, it would most likely be repressed soon enough.

Raven and Jinx idly marched behind the behemoth; hands clasped and stuck in the others eyes, both blank from thoughts, and confused as to when they had suddenly become so sentimental.

When did eye contact start feeling good? They asked themselves silently.

And so did the group stroll along the path, absently heading for the park, where Mammoth knew there was a suitable spot for eating. His knowledge that his sister had not been out of her apartment for at least a day, had forced him to pick a sunny, and warm bench, under a row of medium sized pines, the needles all dried brown from the summer heat.

Before their seats, they took their chosen spots. Mammoth took his five sandwiches, and handed each of the remaining two the girls opposite with a smile.

"Dig in." he said

There robin paced along the tiled floor, a grim expression on the visible portion of his face. He had been trying to contact the empath for hours.

However, it had only been around five minutes. Seeing as he was incredibly impatient, it seemed to take many, many times more.

So there he was, his footsteps mindlessly echoing in the enclosed space that was his study. His mask eyeing his open communicator which had autodialed the dark titan.

Who had promptly, not picked up.

And damnit if he wasn't pissed. Just the previous day he had told her to have her com. Unit at her at all times, he was beginning to think she didn't even listen to him.

No, he assured himself, that was _impossible_, of course she listened to him. Which left him with one possible and highly irrational idea.

She had been _kidnapped. _

Rather… teen-napped… Titan-napped?

No matter, he thought to himself. However much he was wrong in his assumption, he had the technology to back himself up, as on his unit he had a global map, with the locations of all the other units.

And far south of him, in an apartment complex, was hers.

He _knew _it! She _had _been captured!

Well far be it from _him_ to allow such travesty to continue, no matter how unlikely it was that someone managed to capture the queen of darkness, who he was convinced would have devoured their soul, he would trudge to the ends of the earth to prove he was right.

So, seeing as he was convinced she had been captured, and seeing as if she owed _specifically _him, a favor. He would go alone to rescue her.

Oh yes, he would.

She would owe him for _life_.

He was unsure of what exactly he would use her dept _for_, but that in no way would prevent him from jumping from his window to maintain secrecy from the other titans.

And that he did.

After attempting to eat a whole –complete- French bread sandwich, both Jinx and Raven had retired to the thiefs apartment for some much needed alone time, after all, two days was an eternity to go without each other.

So there they sat, entwined on the pink haired girls black couch, silently watching something that neither of them knew existed. However, the somehow partially black and white film was not the point, so there they lied, in a warm embrace, enjoying each others company.

And what would happen at that tender moment than an interruption?

The boy wonder stood outside a hollow core door, his ear pressed as close to the wood as possible without merging their atoms. His jaw dropped as he heard a familiar voice laugh.

What in gods name were they doing to her? He shouted at himself.

Though in actuality, the thief had simply tickled the other girl for a brief moment, he, outside the room, only heard the titans laughter.

_Her _laughter.

That only meant one thing.

The god damned apocalypse was there!

He would stop the end of the world! So in a moment of glory, he took a step back and with all his might, he kicked that damnable door straight off its hinges.

And that hollow core piece of wood flew magnificently into the apartment, and in he rolled –in case they were armed-. His duck and roll came to a halt and he flew to his feet.

"Ravennn… uhh." He froze, and his precious birdarangs dropped harmlessly from his hands to have the razor sharp blades stick into the carpeted floor.

For there before him, was a black couch. And on said couch, he could see over an arm, was the dark titan he quested for.

Currently engaged in a rather heated make-out session.

With another girl.

With another _pink haired _girl.

The pair in question noticed his presence and broke apart, sending a curious and shocked glance in his direction.

"… huh…" jinx muttered to the air, utterly confused as to why and how he was there. No one knew where her apartment was accept her, other villains, and the titan in her arms.

And damnit if she wasn't sure none of them ratted her out.

"uh-" stuttered raven as she glanced at her 'shitless' leader, an expression of sheer horror on her face.

This was _not _the way she wanted him to find out. Hell, she never wanted him to find out. Lest she get another speech, about how it would somehow cause the destruction of the titans, and how 'she wasn't thinking'. And through her alarm she was confused as to how the boy had found her.

It's not like she had a tracking device on her, right.

… Right?

Her distress turned to anger as she realized something.

The only way for him to have found her, was if he had something tracking her.

She glared at him. "How did you find me?" she said, completely ignoring the looks she was receiving from her leader, as well as the one from the girl in her arms.

"I… uh… tracked your… Com… Unit…" he muttered, still shocked.

_Oh shit…_ he thought to himself as he slowly realized what he had said. The other titans, save Cyborg, were unaware that their Communicators were capable of being tracked. Especially the one before him.

He tried to change the subject. "What are you doing? That's JINX!" he shouted at her, getting back to the actual topic at hand.

"You tracked it?" she muttered to him, her voice echoing in his mind.

He would forever remember that moment as the second time he was teleported away.

He cracked open his eyes and quickly blinked open as he realized where he was. It was the very same place he'd been trapped before.

He was in china.

… _fuck_

"What'd you do to him?" the thief asked, utterly confused as to what had happened. The last she'd seen of the masked teen was around five seconds ago, right up until he'd fallen into the floor.

"… nothing…"

"… right…" she said, before plopping back down onto the titan. She figured that moment was as good a time as ever, hell, maybe even better than ever. It was the perfect time to bring up an unstable topic, seeing as the girl in her arms had just taken out her anger on another person, that was in fact not her, she no longer had to worry about whatever reaction she would show.

Well, she still did worry, but she would ask anyways, otherwise it would eat her inside out.

"You know how I'm a thief?" she said slowly.

"Yeah."

"And how you're… not?"

"… yeah." She murmured.

"Wanna go… with me?"

**Chapter 13: Decision**

**Wake**

**Chapter 13:**

"Wanna go… with me?" she muttered to the girl, her tone vocalizing the unease in her mind.

"Like… leave the Titans?" she said in her normal voice, unsure as to if it was a joke.

"Yeah…"

"I… don't know… that's a big decision..." She murmured to the girl in her arms, and promptly nuzzled into her neck as she felt the girl shake.

"Yeah, I know…" she responded quietly. "I don't expect an answer right now, just eventually, cause I really like you -and I want us to work -and If you don't want to join me I'll join you and we-" she was effectively silenced with a kiss.

Raven pulled away with a grin. "_You _need to relax."

The pink haired girl promptly sighed and continued to look into the other girls eyes, a sheepish expression on her face. "Sorry…"

"Don't worry about it, we have at least until he gets back, and that should take a while, okay?" she said mockingly.

"Yer lucky the sex is good, cause otherwise… "

"Otherwise…"

She tried with all her might not to crack a smile, she failed miserably. "… stuff…"

The titan chuckled to herself, they did indeed have until her china bound leader returned, and if the last time was of any relation, it would take at the least several days. Unless, god forbid he was prepared.

"Started well, tha'sentence" she slurred, before rubbing the other girls head as one would a genies lamp.

"Hey, I thought so… well, anyways… what were we doing?" She paused for a moment of dramatic thought, and beamed at the other girl as the 'idea' blared in her mind.

"Right." She said to the air before trapping the titan in a kiss, "Shower?" she asked hopefully, not willing to pass up such a glorious opportunity.

"Sounds good." She muttered, seeing as she was for some reason, weak, the though of basking in the warmth of… with the other girl… and the water seemed all too wonderful.

Both girls untangled their mass of limbs and sauntered to the shower, all the while removing various articles of clothing and tossing them at each other. 'dirty shower prefight' as it was called by the thief, the person to get hit with the most dirty clothes looses.

After being pegged several times, and being naked herself, she had indeed, lost the dirty shower prefight. The victorious teen stepped into the shower, familiar with its workings, she have a firm smack to the knob, winced as the water slowly heated up, but started at damn five degrees. She would fix this, she told herself. Her thoughts slowly dissipated as the pink haired girl waltzed into the shower, coming to an abrupt halt directly before the titan. The thief promptly latched onto the other girl with both her arms and her left leg, contently smiling as she contacted the soft, wet, deliciously warm skin.

"Know what? I really like showers… when'd that happen?" jinx said with a snort, which echoed several times in the tiled enclosed space.

"When you forgot about Psycho?" she droned, sighing as she was pulled closer into the girls arms.

"Nah, it almost started at…_no_! There's no way? It was YOU!" she said in mock surprise while poking the girl between her ribs, her voice however, maintaining a low level.

The titan scoffed, "Damn… how did you find out?" she said teasingly, before nuzzling into the girls neck and absently kissing and licking and sucking anything within her reach.

"Want me to clean you off" she muttered to the girl, who promptly ceased her administrations.

"Hmm?"

The titan responded by firmly slapping the pink haired girls' rear, the sound went heard by the bulk of existence. "Sweet" Was said by the thief before she began her cleanliness routine. She bent over to retrieve the body soap near her feet and squeezed out a massive blob, before smacking it into the titans back. The pink haired girl massaged the soap into the skin. She trailed her touch around her hips, up her stomach, and she could not leave the breasts alone, they required much more attention lest they feel left out. Her hands continued to roam the supple flesh, and her smile slowly turned more and more lewd. It seemed her sex drive had caught up with her. Clever bastard it was, but it would have to wait at least five more minutes.

She slid her soapy hands around the girls torso and up to the very bottom of her breast, before gently cupping both in her hands, tenderly rubbing them.

And damnit, the moans weren't helping her composure.

She would have to finish this, or explode.

She continued to stare at the nude girl in her arms. She was beautiful, truly beautiful.

_Someone like her with someone like me…_

She couldn't help but have low esteem, after a childhood of parental, school, peer, and life problems, she had in the end been forced to take on everyone's perception of her. She was a freak, she always was a freak, and she always will be a freak. And a freak does not belong with a beauty…

She ceased her ministrations and lowered her hands to the titans hips, loosely wrapping them around her slender waist. She sighed and dropped her forehead onto the girls back, a drear expression on her face.

"Hey… Raven… am I… u-", she was cut off.

Raven could feel it in the other girls chest. It seemed she had gone through the same damnable past as her own. Eighteen years of being called a freak by everyone will eventually cloud your own judgment of yourself.

As is the birth of low self-esteem.

She could feel it in the girls heart, she was uncertain, so damn uncertain about herself. Something she rarely showed. Something she'd rarely seen.

Here, this cute girl was so uncertain about herself, that she was questioning the titan.

Stage two of low self-esteem, projection.

She could feel it in her heart, the girl was afraid, that perhaps, she was not loved.

Raven would not let such travesty occur to her lover.

So she spoke. "You, are adorable, always have been always will be, got it?"

"… you mean it?" came the slow response from her back.

"Of course, hell, I'm surprised you didn't get kidnapped and forced to be a concubine." She said before turning in the other girls' arms and planting a gentle kiss on her smiling lips.

"Un. Der, Stand?" she muttered breathily into the other girls ear, a lewd smirk on her pale lips.

Jinx mood-killer reared her adorable head once again, far be it from the voice in her head to allow such a lead to relations go noticed. It would not stand for such travesty! It seemed the girl was still in her thoughts.

She still couldn't believe the girl, that she was telling the truth.

She had a valid reason, one stemming from experience.

One that had made her who she was that day.

She remembered that damnable day so clearly, so vivid was it in her mind.

She could see it, the morning blue sky above her.

She was walking around the playground, her last year at that hellish school. So she walked around, all the while the remaining time she had left every slowly ticking away in her mind.

Her lunch laps around the cement rectangle playground, same as she did everyday.' To avoid confrontation, never stay still, or they will find you', were her thoughts. So there she paced the mammoth hunk of tar-coated rock, her feet absently crunching against the gravel that had long since been kicked up.

She remembered, when she slowed down. There was a girl in front of her, smiling.

She remembered, giving her meek hello.

And she remembered, what she received in return.

A compliment.

The girl had said her hair was pretty, and promptly dashed off.

She remembered the feeling, after that moment. It was wonderful, almost excruciatingly so. Never before had she been complimented, so there she continued pacing around the blacktop, an empty smile on her lips, her pink eyes lazily glancing around.

She remembered, she was happy.

For that moment in time she was happy.

And above all, she remembered what happened next.

After her lunch break, she and that girl, as well as the bulk of that girls friends had returned to the same class, as they were classmates, it came to no surprise.

She remembered it so damn clearly, her brown, rickety desk, her wild pink hair thrown back over her shoulders in an attempt to show it off.

After receiving a compliment, she was sure of herself, that she was pretty, so she threw her hair back over her shoulders, still unaware that she was smiling through her movements.

A tear came to the thiefs eye as the moment played over and over in her mind.

She had taken her seat, and next to her, was that girl, the one who had complimented her. It seemed the girl was currently engaged with her friends in hushed tones, all of the group leaning towards each other in an attempt to block out eavesdroppers.

And she had fucking smiled, she remembered her idiotic grin. She remembered how sure she was, that they were talking about her and how beautiful she was. She wanted to hear it, she wanted to hear some praise, any praise.

She had never gotten any before.

A metahuman she was, with catlike abilities at that. She cocked her head to the side and twitched her ears, picking up on the whispered conversation.

And her smile dropped.

And her gaze dropped.

And her tears dropped.

She remembered that damn girl, quietly laughing with her friends, reminding them of how much a freak she really was. Even that she'd said she was 'pretty'. And at that her bastard friends broke out hysterically laughing, their secrecy forgotten, however, their secret not revealed, so long as amusement it was not.

And she remembered the feeling, it felt so terrible. They sent her to the clouds and hurled her back to the ground.

They had established a contrast.

They had shown her how wonderful she could feel, and snatched it from her hands, taunting her from above.

And she was tired of it.

Through her tears she'd been tired of it.

She was tired of believing those bastards, when all they said were lies. She would never believe them ever again.

And she vowed to herself, that she was worth something, and she would make something with herself, using herself, even if she had to become a villain to achieve her dreams.

She would prove them wrong.

She would show all of them.

She was not a freak.

So there she stood, pressed into the titans pale back, the soft tears slowly streaming from her reddened eyes. As much as she desired to believe the girl she was with, in her heart she couldn't, she simply was unable to believe.

To believe anyone.

She needed more proof, she needed anything that could show her, that it was indeed the truth the other girl spoke.

That perhaps, she really was cute, really was loved.

She needed to know, _now_.

The thief looked up at the girl in her arms, sniffling slightly as a tear ran down her cheek, though obscured by the raining water, it went noticed by the titan.

"Jinx, what's wrong?" she said in genuine concern, never before had she seen the girl in her arms cry, and damnit if she wouldn't try to stop it.

"Do you… really like me?" she muttered to the girl, her voice trembling.

"Jinx," she said with a sigh, "Why else would I be in a shower with you?", she said in a light tone, in an attempt to resurrect the previously good aura.

"I need to know." She said firmly though the tears, "Do you actually like me?" her voice solid.

Raven softened at the girls voice, she could hear it through the bravado, through the strong tone.

She was suffering, every second she was dying over and over again.

She really did need to know.

And she needed to prove it, somehow, to the girl in her arms, that she did love her.

_Of course we love you silly! _Came that obnoxious, blaring voice.

_Happy… it's been a while…_ she drolled, before realizing something. She could prove it, absolutely prove it.

_Love? _She said to the void.

_Mnn?_ Responded a calm, fond, and content voice

_Tell her the truth, do we love her?_

_More than anything in the universe, mistress._

The sound rang over in the thiefs mind, and a faint smile formed on her lips. She recognized that voice, it was one of ravens head people.

One of her head people had just said, the titan did indeed, love her.

_Love _her.

That was all she needed to hear, and more.

Unless, of course…

"… Really?"

"Damnit jinx, Yes, _yes_, for gods sake YES, I love you."

"Do you mean i-?" she said, her tone lightened to match her normal candor.

The titan simply responded by placing a finger on the girls lips, effectively silencing her. "I love you." She said, before removing her hand and leaning in for a chaste kiss, the steaming water around them not even comparing to the heat of the meeting of their lips.

Several minutes later, the empath pulled away heavily breathing and smiling. She pulled the girl into a tight embrace, both of them blushed at the contact.

"Really, I love you."

Jinx smiled contently through the streaming tears, she was certain, now, that she was in love.

And that she could be loved.

She felt warm, even without the downpour of steaming water she would have been. The only thing she needed was the girl in her arms.

Perhaps she didn't need to steal to be happy… maybe all she needed was the titan.

So there they stood, the downpour of steaming water flowing down their pale skin, the same content smile on each of their lips.

The same feeling in each of their hearts.

They felt loved.

Something _neither _of them had ever experienced. Had never even expected.

They had both been alone and rejected their whole lives.

Such a connection forged faster and stronger a fondness of each other. Time spent is meaningless, whether be it years, months, it will not change the way you feel about them. Unless you decide you are not meant to be.

Time will not increase love, so time does not matter.

The mere week they used to bring themselves together was more than enough time to realize that they did really love each other.

They would not abandon each other.

However, there was still a problem.

They were on opposite sides of the law, _complete_ opposites. Which meant one of them would have to switch sides if they could comfortably and publicly be together.

They were not going to hide themselves, after both their pasts they were going to prove to everyone, that they were people too.

And they had found love.

So there was the wall.

Who joins who?

There they stood in a tender embrace, the steaming water raining down in gentle torrents, the same thought in each of their minds.

The very same thought:

_Should… I join her?_

Neither was willing to give up what they had strived and worked and bled for all their lives burst into flames. They would never abandon each other. And neither really wanted to give up their side of the justice system.

But it could never be that way.

They would eventually have to fight each other, something neither could do.

Not anymore.

Still the wall stands. Both bound together, and both tied to opposite sides.

Sides they've come to prefer, even like.

So is the question.

Who will break their bonds?

For the pink haired girl, thievery always was, and is her life. She steals for necessity, to keep her boat afloat in the ocean called life. Hell, she steals for fun, for bets, for her own amusement.

She takes great pleasure at those who once called her a freak now fear her presence, now lose their possessions to her, and not the other way around.

She took great pleasure in stealing back everything they had stolen from her.

They stole her possessions

They stole her joy

They stole her life

And above all, they stole her purpose.

So she had made one, to get revenge on all those who had wronged her.

Thus was her entrance into organized crime.

Another method of vengeance.

As well as financial support..

Her new job served as a stress relief, as well as contentment with herself.

She was stealing everything back.

And she wanted to continue stealing, and loving the girl in her arms. But she knew one of them had to change.

For the violet eyed girl

Her, having been tortured viciously for an eternity, then for centuries above ground, had as well been mocked and tormented and hated and despised for being and looking different.

And in her years on earth, all she came to see is cruel, prideful, malicious smirks and leers aimed at her.

She was also an outcast.

She also had many things stolen and destroyed.

Things she could never get back.

So much was she like the thief.

And if not for her pre-past, she would be exactly like her.

Her father, that abomination of a being, had birthed her in the fiery pits of hell, to convert her to his wills, in essence, to become a demon.

Become a demon, and ravage and burn and destroy everyone and anyone. They are all sinners and they are all filth, and such vermin does not deserve to breathe.

_So you, my daughter, you will do this for me. You will be the end of existence. _

_You will be Oblivions Mistress._

Her father, at her resistance to become such a travesty, had fought her, and trapped her in the chains of the devil himself.

Forever suspended in the chains, forever stabbed and penetrated and torn apart by the links, forever burnt by the fires and flames beneath her feet.

And her attempts to break free from those damnable bonds resulted in severe and brutal retaliation.

She could regenerate, so long as her brain remained mostly in tact.

So her torturers were allowed to do as they wished, so long as they never touched her pretty face.

And in the end, she had escaped the dungeon, and she had demolished and ripped and tore her bastard father apart.

She had killed him for all time and eternity.

And in the end, she was freed from the bowels of hell.

To earth, she was sent, among all the other possibilities she had chosen earth, rather, gotten earth.

She did not know why, she got that place, and after her appearance she began to regret her decision.

To leave.

She was tormented and taunted and teased and bullied for all her life. Until one day.

Until that one, damn day.

The day that changed everything.

She had ripped that bastards hand off, and she had loved the feeling, the feeling of revenge coursing though her veins. She'd picked him up by his throat, and smiled as she watched him slowly suffer and suffocate in anguish.

And she realized, she was killing him.

She could never kill anyone.

Everyone deserves to live.

No one deserves to die.

Her father, that bastard had left her with one option, become Oblivions Mistress. Something she would never do.

And to spite her fathers ideals, and to prove to herself that she was not her fathers play toy, that he could not use her for such bullshit.

She went hero.

She saved the people that taunted and mocked and hurt her in the past.

All because of her fucking dead fathers ideals.

That everyone deserves to die, everyone anything and all of existence.

Destroy it all.

Was her fathers purpose.

Was Trigons purpose

And never in her life would she become her father.

She would never kill, she would never destroy.

All things deserve to live.

And nothing deserves to die.

So there she was, in her teens, fighting for those who had treated her lower than dirt, treated her like a fucking animal.

So there she was, fighting for those who did not deserve it. All because of her father.

Her father was the only reason she had taken the heroes path, otherwise, had she not been destined to destroy everything, she would have taken her loves path.

She would have been a thief but for her father.

To think, that son of a bitch managed to torture torment her every waking moment. And in the end, he was the reason she avoided the lower path.

Trigon, was her driving force, making her strive in life to become in individual, not the oblivions mistress.

Trigon, was her driving force to save, rather than to destroy life. To get out of his shoes, and forge her own path, she would not become her merciless father.

Thus the birth of the titans.

She had established the group with several other unique teens, and surrendered the position as leader to the boy wonder. Positions mean nothing, after all.

So it began, her crime fighting spree, she would defend and save and help those in need. She would destroy those who dared oppose her.

As much as she would have liked to say otherwise, she could not fully escape her fathers past.

She was still issuing righteous torment on the heathens of the world, though at a minor extent, it was what she strived to avoid.

She would never take a life.

So it continued, she saved, and destroyed. Every day she saved those in need, and every day she demolished and decimated those who dared harm the innocent.

She was punishing sinners.

She was still a demon.

she was saving those in need.

She was no longer a demon.

Her routine was not one brought by pleasure, or desire, rather, by necessity. Being a titan allowed her to serve the world in a positive way, instead of consuming all of existence in the all-cloaking darkness of oblivion.

Her current routine is one contrary to her fathers. Designed to be his opposite. Designed to break any relations they had ever shared in the past. Designed to evade her destiny.

To be Oblivions Mistress.

And she had succeeded, down in the fiery pits of hell she had decimated her father, she cut his fucking head off. And she hurled his remains into the deepest, dankest, and foulest pits of hell, to rot and putrefy for all time forevermore and for all eternity.

She had long since proved herself free from her bastard of a father. She had long since been free from her bonds.

And still, she fought crime, she protected the innocent, and was mocked by the very people she saved, hated by the people she stopped.

Why did she continue to be a teen titan? When she had long since achieved her goal.

Her father was dead; she now and forever had her own existence that is hers and hers alone.

She was free from her burdens.

So she had no reason to continue helping those who despised and loathed her mere appearance. She had no reason to continue helping the titans.

Her father was dead.

She no longer needed to fight crime, to be righteous.

At that moment, she just wanted to be happy, whatever happy may be.

And she knew, she now knew where she could be happy.

She would give up her useless occupation, her bullshit job. She would no longer save those in need, when all she would receive in compensation is a sneer and crude remark. Saving lives brought her nothing, all it is, is a reminder, of exactly what people thought of her.

They all hated her, the majority despised her simply for being different.

She had been saving people that despised her for years.

Never once had she been thanked, not even thanked for saving a life.

Perhaps it was time for a break.

Time for a change.

To avoid the destiny her father had imposed on her, She had slaughtered him like cattle, and she created the teen titans, and she fought for the common man, saved the common man, provided protection for all. Even after her fathers murder, she had continued to fight for those who do not deserve her help.

For those who do not respect her help.

She was fighting to destroy her destiny.

She had killed her father.

She had killed her destiny.

So why was she still fighting and sweating and straining for the same people that harbor nothing but hatred for her.

Her reason was gone.

She no longer needed to fight crime.

Her father was dead.

So was her destiny.

She had long since been free, and yet she still worked day in and day out.

Why was she doing all those thing? How hadn't she seen that she no longer needed to fight, to defend or destroy or protect.

How did she not realize she was done?

After her sole reason for saving Go city repeatedly was solved, why did she continue onwards?

Perhaps, somewhere along the line, her dead father fell from the picture.

In fact, the very moment she dismembered her bastard of a father, she would have been free from her destiny, one that could have only been imposed so long as her father breathed.

It seemed the titans had been formed for no reason after all.

Even before the titans were established, the empaths main reason for constructing it was destroyed. Her _main _reason was sated.

So why had she started the titans?

Perhaps, in a part of her mind, she wished to fight, whether friend or foe she needed to vanquish good or evil, either, she needed to do something, anything.

She needed to find meaning again.

She needed to find purpose again.

Thus, were the teen titans created.

And thus, was Ravens' _raison d'etre_ restored.

And thus did she continue onwards, desperately searching for something to use her broken life for.

Desperately searching for a purpose in the world, after destroying her previous.

And she had in the end, built one.

She had been a titan.

However, now things were different.

She would _never_, no matter what she did, be her father. That had long since been behind her.

Now, she could be or do whatever she desired, her fathers wishes and restrictions no longer mattered.

That bastard was dead.

He took his two cents.

May they burn in hell with him.

So there she was, in the thiefs arms, realizing, that she could do what she'd always wanted to do. Because, she realized in that girls arms, that she never liked saving the very same people who openly despised and mocked her.

Who the hell would?

She, with no shred of doubt, wanted to join the girl in her arms, more than anything in the world. She would obey her desires, and be satisfied with her choice, no matter what the consequence.

She would throw her purpose to the side like filth, and retrieve the one she had long since forgotten.

She would be a villain, and she would return the favor to all those bastards who treated her like filth.

And above all else, she would be with the girl in her arms, always and forever.

And she would feel wonderful, happy, glorious, and content with her decision.

"Jinx…" she muttered to the girl in her arms, nuzzling her cheek into the girls neck.

"What?" she said silently, restraining a moan as the other girl gently nipped at her ear.

"I want to join you." She said at a constant and slow pace, placing her mouth on the girls earlobe.

"Are you sure?" she murmured, "I don't want you to give up what you love… for my sake"

Raven pulled away from the girl, a serious expression on her face, however, a faint loving smile on her pale lips.

"_You_ are what I love, and I will give up anything to be with you, even if it is what I _despise_."

Jinx chuckled, the downpour of tears continued from her eyes. "You don't like being a titan?"

"I don't think I ever have… Only… while I'm here, with you, I realized it…" She chuckled to herself. "We really are the same aren't we?"

Jinx grinned and pulled the other girl tighter against her sheen body, a playful smile on her lips.

"If by that you mean gorgeous and amazing, then yeah." She said with a laugh.

"Damn straight!" she said with a scoff.

The titan gazed at the beautiful girl in her arms, her expression dropped as her eyes trailed the tears pouring from the thiefs eyes. She gently raised a hand and brushed away the tears.

"Cheer up, jinx, y'er making me sad." She said before pulling the other girl into her body, and resting the other girls head on her shoulder. The titan soothingly rubbed the girls back and comforted her as the last of the tears circled the drain.

"Jinx." She murmured to the girl in her arms, who promptly nuzzled into her cheek.

"I love you, and I always will."

"… same…" the thief muttered into the girls ear, before returning to rubbing cheeks and planting the occasional kiss on the titans soft lips. She had no more questions, she had no more problems. They would be together, they would steal and rob and connive together.

And they would always be together, and they would never be apart.

They would give each other what neither had ever received.

Undying love.

Title: **This Ain't A Story, It's Another Damned Epithet**  
>Category: Cartoons » Teen Titans<br>Author: JellyfishBlues  
>Language: English, Rating: Rated: M<br>Genre: Romance/Humor  
>Published: 02-29-08, Updated: 05-15-08<br>Chapters: 6, Words: 14,453

**Chapter 1: Enter, Raven**

**Chapter 1:**

There he stood.

Ever twitching behind his mask, he scanned the area around him with distaste, his scowl curving further down on his face as he completed his rotation. It seemed his only reasonable way to get back was to take an economy jet. And the only affordable way was… none.

There was _no_ affordable way to get back.

So there he stood, his hands writhing in the air as he contemplated his options. He, a man of justice, could not possibly steal the money, could he? He'd have to arrest himself, and damnit, he would _not_ go down without a fight.

Moments passed and he loosed a vicious sigh, glaring unholy death to the pavement beneath his feet.

He would have to steal.

…something.

He could always simply stow away on the flight, it did not require he break the law other than not paying, and it did not require he mugged some Chinese fellow who would most likely karate chop his neck and kill him.

Having spent some time previously in china, he was well aware not to piss of a Chinese person.

It wasn't as though he couldn't easily take them, but they tended to surprise him. As in, turn on their heels and slap him across the face.

Always quick to the draw, they were.

He took a deep muffled breath and stood from behind the sacks of sand he was crouching behind, immediately attracting stares with his gloriously clashing outfit. Christmas boy stalked off to the airport in the distance, which he only knew existed from his last abandonment. It was the very same airport he had taken the last time.

Only, unlike last time, he did not have one, his wallet, two, his passport, or three, his communicator, which he assumed he had lost off him in his magnificent duck and roll maneuver.

As well as his favorite batarangs, the ones he' sharpened to perfection, as well as the only ones which remained in tact after a mission. It seemed all his things were either or lost or destroyed in the process of arresting a felon. Hell, they even worked as boomerangs, something he had discovered completely by accident, he missed, and rather unfortunately, as they were sharpened, he had no logical reason to catch them.

But he did anyways.

Oh yes, he "caught" them.

As in, they _stopped_ on various parts of his body.

Stopping something, and not dropping it, always was a 'catch' in his opinion.

From that moment on at least.

He shuddered as his stroll continued, the airport lazily growing closer in the top of his vision. He still remembered the horrid experience he'd had those seven months ago. Him, speaking no Chinese whatsoever, as well as him having no previous experience in that particular part of the globe, had succeeded in making him look like an insane American donned in a rather _hip_ fashion statement.

Yes, it seemed the Chinese adored his dress code.

His heavy steps brought him to the automatic doors of 'China Air', and there he froze, taking in all the inhumane glory.

He went in.

And prayed dear god that she still wasn't pissed at him when he returned.

**One Month Later**

Light, slow paced steps took her slowly along the ground, her shoes dully clunking against the pavement beneath her feet, her eyes lazily looking around her, in an attempt to seem nonchalant.

She was however, far from being nonchalant.

So there she was, masking her desperation to find her apartment with droll apathy, all the while in actuality, only gaining distance from her desired destination. She sighed heavily and her constant steps came to an abrupt halt before the now green light, which effectively commanded her, 'stop, or be mauled by a two thousand pound metal death trap'.

And she glared unholy death at the damnable regulatory device, at the moment despising her stop more than she would the catastrophic meltdown that uncontrolled streets would induce. Her lack of a means for transportation other than rather glaring magic was not making her desire any less meaningful. She was not an exhibitionist, one of the many reasons she didn't simply command the shadows to take her home, let them do the grunt work.

That, as well as her current reputation, one she was actually quite proud of.

She had none.

After deciding to accompany her love in crime, she had in the end, quit the titans, and left a note explaining her actions.

It had been rather conspicuously placed, taped to the green boys face to find in the morning. It had read:

'_I'm going away, Robin's in china.'_

'… _ps, I'll get my stuff eventually'_

While she was applying her message to the soundly sleeping boys twitching eyelids, she had remembered something important.

It seemed her spell had been effecting her as well.

Once again, she'd forgotten about Ranst.

She loosed a silenced sigh and phased out of the scarcely lit room, the only source of illumination being a small nightlight in the corner. It seemed the titan was still afraid of the 'giant man-eating tarantulas'. She however, would mock him another time, preferably many years from then. She hovered her way back towards the door and phased through it, once passed, she met ground once again, getting restrained in nostalgia. She would not see that hall for quite some time, if ever again, so she took in the familiar sight for one possibly last time and started her way down the pitch black halls, heading for her own room. For one, to take the sleeping girl from it, and two, to retrieve her belongings.

She was relieved she had scarce belongings to speak of.

A Bittersweet smile formed on her lips, a flat, dull expression in her eyes.

Her steps took her to her door, and once again, she had phased directly through the slab of metal. And as she expected, the jade haired girl was soundly sleeping in her violet bed, a content smile on her lips. The titan took careful, calculated steps to the side of her bed, not wishing to make a sound until absolutely necessary. She took a seat on the edge and gently nudged the soundly sleeping girl awake. Ranst promptly groaned and tossed about, before ceasing her movements and lazily blinking open her neon green eyes, she sent a sleepy look to the girl next to her.

"Hey…" she muttered with fatigue.

"Ranst?" she said, keeping her voice low in the all-encompassing darkness of her room. "I'm… not going to be a titan anymore."

Her expression did not change, the same dull and extremely exhausted look on her face. It seemed she either did not care, or was to far away from the moment to hear the other girls voice.

Raven however, continued without disregard. "So… you could stay here, with the titans, they wont destroy my room or anything, and eventually It'll be yours." She droned on.

"Or, you could come with me."

She continued to stare into the other girls somewhat vacant expression. She sighed.

"I wont force anything on you, it's your choice."

Several silent and long moments passed, both girls staring blankly at each other.

"You." The girl whistled out while prodding the other girl in the ribs, smiling as best as she could manage. Of course she would not abandon the girl to whom she owed her very soul. Far from that kin of loyalty, she much desired to accompany her friend, who had shown her nothing but pleasure. Her smile turned dreamy as she recalled her first bath; the very first time she touched the heavenly mattress that was the girls' bed.

She would go with her friend, for good and for bad.

Raven spared a small grin for the other girl, the time was getting to her as well, having not yet adjusted to a 'thief's schedule' of awake and asleep times, and the sexy nymph in her new bed was not making it any easier to fall asleep or get out of bed.

It did however, make it extremely easy to get _into_ bed.

"Well, let me just get my things and we'll be going." She muttered before starting her mantra to summon the various articles and objects that lined her deep purple walls. Said things promptly were sucked into the very center of the room, to be absorbed into an orb of writhing shadows, which hovered above the ground, its tentacles stretching and constricting her books, her masks, her belongings and hauling them into itself.

The shadows task was completed, and the titan turned back to the now wide awake girl. She offered out a hand, however, chuckled as the girl on her bed motioned the same, not wanting to leave her post. The violet eyed girl sighed, padded her way to the sprite, and offered out a hand. Her gesture was promptly accepted. The sprite was gently pulled to her feet and back towards the center of the plush purple carpet beneath their feet.

She muttered her mantra under her breath, and the two immediately sank into the floor, the steel reinforcement no longer sound, the floor no longer stable, the foundation spun inwards in a gyre, the two girls ever sinking with a mindless and rather unconcerned expression. The bubbling twitching thrashing and writhing shadows lashed about as the girls completed their gentle fall, and promptly settled back into their original positions, numerous as they were, they needed much rest to remain active should they be called on, as was their duty to her,

The Daughter of Trigon.

So there she was, a long month later, strolling the streets of Bethlehem city, a vague and dull expression masking the inner turmoil and conflict.

How in the hell did she not know where her apartment was? _She _was the damn person who found it, so shouldn't she know?

Why in the _hell _didn't she know.

She agitatedly twirled her long, deep sapphire hued hair, sighing as it wrapped around her finger. She had assumed she could have simply found her apartment if she scouted the area. It had always worked back in Go city.

Damnit, she wished she could have stayed there. But, it would be to strange, fighting with her friends.

She wouldn't be able to.

So she, the jade haired girl, and the thief had all moved to Bethlehem, 'the giant among ants', being its motto, it was by far her last choice of scenery. However in the end, it was the only place with dominantly urban settings, and lack of a north, east, south, or west titans establishment.

And however contrary to assumptions, it was the average city as cities go, The occasional major crime, the unnoticed minor crime. However strange, considering the cities economy, a predominantly wealthy district unfenced usually attracted felons.

Yet somehow, this extremely large place had escaped the radar.

So there she was, her brilliant violet eyes sending a vacant stare at the sky above her head as that damnable thought pounded her head.

She would need to teleport.

And damnit if she wasn't trying to keep a low profile for the moment. Though she was currently unaware of what exactly she should be desiring, such a decision would be left to her Co-Cohort in crime, jinx. The thought of her name warmed the titans very soul. The girl had been her moral support in her decision for the past month. She had been depressed that she had abandoned some of the few people that had accepted her.

And the girl had responded.

"_They still do love you, and so do we. And you know we always will, don't you?"_

"_They will always be your friends, regardless of what you do."_

"_And I will always love you, no matter what."_

She took a deep breath to suffocate the joyous tear that she felt running from her eye. She inhaled once again, and quickly glanced around her, looking for an inconspicuous place where she would teleport without being caught in the act.

Her prayers were answered as beside her was a rather pricy clothing store, one that she was positive would have a ladies room. Her mood increased as the thought that she would be home soon warmly greeted her thoughts. She entered the shop, squinting as the various fabrics glinted warmly in the well lit space. She smiled a forced smile at the clerk behind the supposedly 'hip' desk, which was covered in various trends.

Strange trends.

She approached the woman, calmly stuck her hands into her jet black jean pockets, and cocked her head to the side.

"Can I use your bathroom?"

"Sorry, it's for customers only."

The titan sighed, she would not touch those damnable streets once more if she could help it. And damnit, she _could _help it. Hell, she could easily stop it, as she was currently in position of her wallet, in which she assumed she could afford another piece of clothing she liked and get home in the process.

She spun on her heels and blandly observed the hanging colors that obnoxiously crowded around her. The claustrophobic design seeming to deter the customer from leaving without purchase, lest they be pulped between two storage racks. The design was rather successful, as raven took a deep breath and started browsing though the racks of cloths, only looking for jet black.

Her heart pounded as she came upon a pitch-black trench coat, even her size. It seemed the gods were sending her a message. She daintily picked the thing off its hanger and dragged at towards her, in her grasp the fabric long enough to reach the floor. She spun it around and shrugged it on in a single fluid motion, and breathed deeply.

That black trench coat, was rather unique. No shoulder pads and rather compliant design meant she would appear to be obviously female in such a vestment, her blue hair softly waving by her eyes seemed even more blue than usual next to the pitch colored fabric. She spread her arms to check the length, and crossed them before her, to check the tension of the back as well as the reach. She eagerly clasped all eight highly ordinate buckles, on each an intricate design. The one closest to her sights, on it was engraved a feather, it seemed almost real in its rendering. The silver buckles shining and gleaming in the light, they seemed indestructible, flawless. Good lord, it was her dream come true. A black, fashionable women's trench coat, she had doubted such a thing even existed. She further examined the cuffs on her arms, smiling as she shook the limb, listening to the quiet jingle of the sole portion of gleaming new chain, thin and miniscule, that was wrapped around her wrist several times. Same for her left.

She unclipped the belts with a heavy sigh, she didn't want to take the heavenly thing off her body, she felt freezing as the insulating fabric abandoned her skin. She held it out before her eyes, taking in all its glory.

She would buy it.

Definitely.

And… that _hat_! she thought to herself as she looked above where the heavenly trench used to hang, and a pure black top hat met her sights, she grinned. As ridiculous as she would look, such a thing was her style, it was something she adored. Gaudy, black, and more importantly, chains.

It seemed her father had indeed effected his daughter after all, though she would never admit to such travesty.

She grinned at the top hat and took rapid steps to it, her coat never leaving her occupied hand. She snatched the thing from its shelf and plopped it onto her head, Adjusting herself, she wondered what she looked like at that moment.

Most likely ridiculous, even more so once she put on the coat.

But damnit, she was going to buy them. BOTH of them.

Hat and trench in hand, she padded her way back to the clerk behind the counter. She set her articles down on the counter in the same way as one would beautiful imported china.

She turned her gaze up to the clerk, who took a step back as she met her violet eyes.

"How much for these?" she said in a dull and droll tone, masking her delight.

The salesperson took a deep breath and straightened her shirt, before turning her attention to the things on the counter.

"Five for the coat and one for the hat."

"What units are you using?" she drolled.

"Hundreds." She said in a similar tone, her excitement at her job remaining safely behind bars.

"Six hundred… for this?" she muttered, making her voice barely audible.

"Yeah." She stated blandly, the same 'dontgiveashit' expression ever present on her face.

"…" the titan loosed a heavy sigh, retrieved her desired items, and trudged her way back to the shelf through her sorrow. In her wallet she had exactly ninety seven dollars and twelve cents. An amount she assumed would be good enough to purchase something from that damnable store.

She couldn't even afford the hat, even the _fucking _HAT!

She returned it to its hanger, and the hat above it with a grim and grief-stricken expression on her face. She simply would not let that magnificent coat disappear. She had to have it.

This was her _first _desire that wasn't sex related or to inflict unholy death, so damnit, she had to have it!

However, in her mind, there went slow and fairly simple trains of thought.

_Train number one:_

Cannot afford stuff.

_Train number two:_

Cannot walk out with stuff.

_Train number three:_

Can hypnotize living and nonliving beings

_Train number four, last stop for the day:_

Can hypnotize the clerk into thinking she had indeed bought the item.

… oh, and then she could use the bathroom to teleport back in her magnificent cloak and hat. She would soon need a cane to match, something she had several vague ideas about. This however, would happen later.

She approached the clerk once again, her belongings in hand, she came to a firm stop before the woman, who looked at her dully.

Raven closed her eyes and took a deep breath, the saleswoman never even blinked.

She lazily cracked her eyes open, before fully embracing the scant lighting around her. She looked the girl in the eyes.

_Azarath… Metrion… Zinthos._ She thoughts silently to herself. For a moment and only a moment, her eyes shined a brilliant red. And just as quickly as they appeared, they vanished. Leaving the girl before her sending her an inquisitive look.

"You can _leave_, you paid for it." She said slowly. However, her arrogance went unheeded, seeing as she was now out what was most likely seventy dollars actual cost.

Raven forced a smile to the girl. "Where are the bathrooms?"

The clerk lazily gestured to her right, where above the opening in rather small letters was the phrase, "Bath - Room." Separated by a flower. She, still caught in the happiness of the moment, ignored the blatant disrespect and, clothing in hand, started off to the bathroom from which she would never exit.

Ah, hypnosis, such a thing was a simple task for the girl. She needent enter the subjects mind. Being that she is creating an image, she needed only create a mental picture of her surroundings, forge ones of her buying the coat and hat, and implant it in the other girls mind.

She chuckled to herself as she flung open the door, sliding into the wall of shadows that greeted her sights. She commanded them to take her, and her belongings back to her apartment. And after a pitch tendril slammed the previously caught door, they readily obeyed their master.

"Oh. My. God. Where did you get that?" the pink eyed girl asked enthusiastically.

"A place." she droned, masking her excitement with a dull look, "I got this at a place."

"It's so cool… you _have _to let me wear it!" she said while lazily circling the other girl and occasionally prodding and poking any particularly interesting objects attached to the pitch black trench coat. Never before had she seen such a thing. Partly because the coat was intended for use many years ago, as well as her sense of fashion all but despising long coats. It seemed this coat was magical, as it compelled them both to desire its majesty.

"Sure, sometimes." She said sincerely.

"Sweet! How much was it?"

"Six hundred."

"Dollars?" the thief said incredulously.

"No, _sandwiches_." She said dryly.

"But you don't _have _six hundred." The pink haired girl said with a knowing smirk.

"That would've posed a problem, wouldn't it."

"Ahh, You stole it, didn't you?" she said with an ear splitting grin. Herself as well as the titan and friend had moved to Bethlehem only a month ago, and seeing as she was previously a titan, the empath had unfortunately retained some moral values, such as, 'thou shalt not steal'. Such an action as petty theft served the thief as an inspiration. And even more, she was proud of her little girl, as well as excited, her, having performed all the past months robberies, was giddy that she could soon pull off a heist with her 'arm candy', as she called her.

"No." the titan said flatly.

"Aaaaa!" the thief said with a chuckle, "You did didn't you!"

The person in question looked to her side, down at the plush white carpet beneath her feet, a faint blush on her normally and naturally pale features. The pink haired girl grinned brilliantly at the girl before her, before trapping the titan in a bone-crushing embrace.

"I'm so proud of you!" she bellowed, her normal sense of restraint lost in a 'first' of her girl. This however, meant nothing, considering the pair were in the cloak of their relatively shielding apartment building. Almost strangely so, its number was once again 805, something that greatly helped in the thief's adjustment period. The pink haired girl reluctantly pulled away minutes later with a smile that threatened to tear a hole in the fabric of existence.

"Sooooo?"

"So what?"

"You wanna' go with me next time?" the pink eyed girl said exuberantly, all the while squirming like a giddy schoolgirl.

"Uhh…" the former titan drolled, a somewhat confused expression on her normally bland face. The girl looked to the side once again, silently asking herself if she was ready for the final step. Committing a crime. Something she wasn't sure she could pull off. As much as she would have liked to say otherwise, she still possessed her former mindset of extreme anti-theft. She still was not ready to so blatantly disregard and in some respect, betray her friends. The empath wondered, would her friends in go city still respect her if they found out about her new life partner. Her new life.

Would they?

It seemed she was still bound by her former occupation, as well as her former associations. The violet eyed girl was not yet ready to disobey her past. She looked back up at the excited girl with a remorseful expression on her face, the thief immediately sobered at her demeanor, and took slow steps forwards, pulling her into a tender embrace.

"You don't have to… if you don't want to." The pink haired girl muttered.

"… Sorry… I'm just… Not ready, yet… "

Jinx met the other girls stare with a reassuring smile playing on her lips. "You've got nothing to apologize _for_." She chirped, in a meek attempt to restore her loves previous mood.

Raven forced a smile onto her pale lips, before meeting the thief in a chaste kiss, pulling away with a however, sincere grin. The empath stood motionless for a brief moment, before brushing at the overcoat she still wore, as well as removing the black tophat perched on her head, tossing it aimlessly over her shoulder, only to have it guide itself to a hook by the door normally reserved for keys.

Keys that neither of them had.

She grinned. "I should take this off, shouldn't I?"

"Well, it _is _kind of hot in here." The thief vaguely commented.

"Nice contribution, thanks."

**Chapter 2: Enter, Glath**

**Another Damned Epithet**

**Chapter 2:**

"Nice contribution, thanks."

"Hey, Raven." The thief playfully elbowed the girl as she removed her dark black overcoat and hung it over the brilliantly clashing pink couch, a smirk on her pale lips. "Guess what time it is."

"… What time is it, Oh awkward one?"

"Bath time!" she bellowed, before pulling off her shirt in a maddened frenzy and flinging it at the other girl, who promptly stepped to the side, leaving the article of clothing to fall to the lushly carpeted floor, prostrate, looking rather downtrodden in its crumpled demeanor. She leered at the now shirtless girl before her.

"You missed." The former titan said with a grin, all the while slipping her plain black T up over her head, her expression somehow managing to be seen through the fabric as it was pulled over her dark blue hair. Jinx, the same lecherous smile, jumped out of her cargo pants in a single fluid moment, having had so much experience in the pre-shower/bath dirty clothes fight in the past month, that she no longer needed to pause at any part of the removal. The pink haired girl hurled her pants at the girl, who rather calmly ducked, and, her shirt off, chucked the vestment at the girl, which effectively wrapped around her face like the monster from 'Alien'. The blinded girl didn't even attempt to remove the blindfold, and in a blur, unhooked her bra and pitched it randomly. In a moment of luck, the thing hit the titan smack in the face, the cups landing solidly over each eye, and the hooks on the back re-hooking in the process.

"You win this round." Raven muttered to the girl as she tried to remove the bra from her face, all the while feebly attempting to restrain the smile that threatened to shove its way onto her lips.

The pink haired girl removed the black shirt with a scoff, "Damn right I won." She froze, the same ear splitting smile on her lips as she observed the scene before her. It seemed the titan was unable to remove her blindfold unassisted. The thief snickered to herself while the blue haired girl continued to fumble with the hooks on the back of her head, a familiar smile on her lips as well.

"Want me to get that?" Jinx said with a chuckle.

"That'd be nice." The titan muttered with a smirk.

The thief waltzed over to the blinded girl with the familiar lewd grin on her lips. Standing before the former titan, she wrapped her arms around the girls slender shoulders and pressed herself into her supple form, taking her sweet, delicious time in removing the thing from her love.

"Any time now." Raven muttered as the thief continued to purposely fumble with the clasps.

"Not my fault these things are so damned hard to undo." She said in an 'over the counter' tone.

"You know, the sooner yours comes off, mine does."

"Done." The thief chirped as she 'successfully' removed her bra from the titans face.

"I'll start the bath, you clean up the mess." Raven said as she padded off to the bathroom to start filling the tub, on her way, checking one of the two bedrooms to her left. It was the jade haired girls home too, after all. She continued on her way as she spotted the girl in question lazily sprawled out on her bed, her very own bed. After giving the knob a firm smack, it sprang to life, much like Frankenstein's monster. It groaned and creaked before spurting out freezing cold water, and at a rather slow pace, heated up to an acceptable temperature. However, the titan, unconcerned with its warm up time, padded out of the bathroom, still donned in a simple black lace bra and jeans. She smiled contently as she entered the main room of the apartment, and idly watched from the doorway as her topless girlfriend hopped about on one foot, attempting to retrieve all the fallen garments with her toes.

"Hey, this 'aint a free show." The thief said with a smirk as she turned her attention from the dirty clothes hamper to the girl leering at her from the doorway.

"Oh _yes_ it is."

"…Touché, you sexy _beast_"

"Damn straight." The titan said, quoting the girls frequent and most likely favorite line. Hers however, sounding much more dry, as well as sarcastic. "Bath?" she asked while gesturing over her shoulder. The pink haired girl grinned as she heard the splashing water and slicked back her already down hair back over her head.

"Race you to the bath!" jinx bellowed while making a mad dash for the door, however, starting further away than her competitors, who could also teleport, she would obviously come in last place. As expected, she dashed into the bathroom to find the titan contently sitting, stark nude, in the still filling as well as steaming tub.

"How do you do that?" the thief vaguely commented while closing the door behind her and slipping out of her clothes.

"Effort." The titan said as she leaned back into the hot water, sighing as she immersed her shoulders.

Jinx simply shrugged her shoulders, and, her clothes aimlessly tossed into the far corner, she pranced her way to the bath, completely disregarding the fairly slick floor. This however, made no difference, as she had always possessed an inhuman sense of balance. She, much like every bath they took, dipped her toe into the water to test the temperature. Satisfied, she slipped into the water one leg at a time and gently leaned back onto the titan, who loosely wrapped her arms around the thiefs neck.

And there they laid, for quite some time. The thiefs back pressed into the titans front, lazily caressing the arms looped around her neck, a content smile on both of their lips.

_Well I hate to kill the moment, however, I believe we have something to discuss, mistress._ Rang that unfamiliar and for the most part unheard voice.

"Haven't heard _you_ in a while." Jinx vaguely commented from her position in the girls lap.

_And I have you to thank, Girl._

"Welcome."

_Well? _Raven interrupted the strangely chummy conversation between her inner mind and her love.

_Ah, yes. You were recently asked to accompany that Girl, yes?_

…_Yeah. _The empath muttered in her head.

_However, you did not, did you._

_No…_

"Hey, can I, like, interrupt?" Jinx quietly asked the girl beneath her.

_No_

"… well I will anyways. She doesn't have to steal if she doesn't want to."

_But she __**did **__want to, right, mistress? At least, most of her did._

_What are you talking about? _The dark titan murmured.

_The only person who did not want to, was Sad. For an invalid reason as well. You see, Girl, my mistress' Sad embodies paranoia as well, she fears for her friendships. However, if my mistress was say, __**successful,**__ in her heist, there would be no link to her in the first place, and therefore, no way for her… "Friends" to find out._

The voice continued before anymore could be said. _You forget, master, a true friend would not abandon you over such a simple change. _

_Do you believe they were actually your friends, Mistress?_

The titan sighed, lowering her mouth beneath the water and blowing bubbles in the steamy liquid. She had no response.

However, someone did.

"Hey _jackass_, Yeah, they were and _are _her friends, so back the hell off!" the thief shouted at a fairly unreasonably volume, her reserve forgotten in her defense of her love.

_You see Mistress? _It said slyly, _You had nothing to worry about… _

Silence once again reigned supreme in the titans mind, and the empath turned her attention to the warm and deliciously soft girl in her lap.

"Thanks… Jinx…" she muttered with a faint smile on her lips.

"Just lookin' out for my G.F, **G**. Now, where is she? I'm gonna kick her ass _so _hard, that she'll b-" the pink haired girl was effectively silenced with a kiss, she sighed away her anger and melting into the heated meeting of their lips, moaning into the other girls mouth as she flipped around in the steaming water and pressed herself against the girls supple form. The former titan draped her arms around the girls back and fervently returned the sentiment, their expression of love growing more passionate with every blurred second.

Around thirty minutes later, Raven pulled away with a heavy sigh, licking the other girls lips before sitting up, and displacing the thief who flopped on her rear onto the hard bottom of the tub.

"Well I hate to kill the moment, but the water's cold… get out?" she asked with a sheepish grin.

"Yeah, it is cold, isn't it?... sooooo…" she trailed off before jumping out of the tub, sending drops of water rocketing in all directions.

"Race you to the bed!" she bellowed while grabbing her towel and dashing to the door, flinging it open in a frenzy, she turned and started down the hall. She padded around the corner and came to an abrupt halt.

"Hey! I wanted that side!" she playfully shouted to the dark haired girl, who was sprawled out on the left side, the side pressed against the wall, of the once again, twin sized bed, a size that was affordable as well as one that "forced" them to sleep tightly packed.

"This spot's for _winners_." Raven said with a mock sneer from her position on the bed. Cross legged and wrapped solely in a thick dark blue towel, which from her sitting methods, concealed absolutely _nothing._

"I challenge you to a duel!" the pink haired girl shouted before tearing to the bed and leaping magnificently into the air, arms and legs spread, she tackled the girl to the bed with a solid thump. However, after smacking into the titan, she, as well as the towel, slid off the side of the bed onto the thankfully carpeted floor.

"… round two?"

"We probably should've dried off first, huh…" Jinx muttered to the girl in her arms as she stretched and squished around on the fairly damp bed, mildly regretting her decision to start the race to mister mattress directly after getting out of the bath.

"Probably…" the former titan vaguely commented as she continued to caress the girl in her arms, her hands aimlessly roaming the slender figure.

"Hey! I know what we should do!"

"… is this another heist?"

"Even better!" she chirped.

"I'll bite… what?"

"We should get Ranst a girl!"

"… where'd that come from?"

"Well, I was thinking, about how we're together, and Ranst… well, isn't."

"…A girl?"

"A girl."

"… _or _boy."

"No, just a girl."

"… Isn't that up to her?"

"No." the thief said with resolution and authority. "I don't want a _GUY _in here, I'm the only person allowed to check you out." She said while nuzzling into the girls neck. "And besides… I don't like… Guys… they're all… _guy_-ish…"

"Guy-ish?" the titan said with a grin.

"Lets just say I've had a bad experience with them…"

"… yeah, me too…"

"Hell, now that the moment's good and dead, we can get to work! Arrrgrrr!" she bellowed at the top of her lungs in an attempt to lighten the mood she had succeeded in massacring. The titan chuckled at her outburst and planted a chaste kiss on her lips.

"Sure… but… how?"

"Oh, I've got ideas…"

"A gay bar..." The former titan glanced over at the two girls beside her with a frown. "_This _was your brilliant idea, a gay bar?"

"Yeah, pretty good huh?" she said, completely oblivious to her loves irritation.

"Fan- tastic." She said dryly, blowing her dark blue hair out of her eyes and sending a glance to the side.

"Well what're we standing around for? Lets go." She pumped her fist in the air and took solid steps to the door, madly flinging it open and holding it, beckoning the other girls inside.

"Fan-fucking-tastic." She said as she blandly observed the mass of bodies writhing around on the center of the floor. The techno music pounding in her chest, while glaringly loud, somehow managed not to hurt her ears, or keep her from hearing the girls beside her.

"May I have this dance, Madame?" the pink haired girl said with a graceful bow, her tone sufficient to make her seem nonchalant.

The former titan snorted in a rather unladylike fashion. "You're such a dork." She said with a chuckle.

Jinx craned her head to look the titan in the eyes, the familiar grin on her lips, though barely visible in the fairly dim lighting. The only illumination being the 80's disco ball madly spinning in the center of the dance floor. "That's why you _loooove _me."

"Yeah… sex isn't bad either. " she vaguely commented while aimlessly glancing off to the side, deep in mock thought.

The pink haired girl stood bolt upright. "Either we dance or I'm stripping." She said, sounding strangely serious.

"_Strip_ it is." She said while returning to lean against the wall, next to the jade haired girl.

"Cm'ooooonnnn, Daaance with meeee" she pleaded to the titan with a pitiful look on her face, her expression clashing brilliantly with her bright pink long sleeved, strapless, knee-length dress, which literally glowed in the dark.

"Sorry, I'm more of a wallflower type."

"…Me too." The jade haired girl chipped in.

"You'll never find a girl with _that_ attitude!" she bellowed at Ranst, who backed further against the wall.

"Actually, this is the _only_ way to find someone with that attitude."

"Wait… why are we here?" The jade haired girl questioned, having not been previously informed to exactly _why _they were at 'The Blue Ruby',

"We're findin' you a girlfriend!" Jinx blurted out ecstatically.

"... I already have one…" she muttered.

"…" neither girl spoke a word, and merely sent confused looked to each other. The former titan was the first to break the silence, and spoke what both thieves thought.

"… what?"

"I already have someone in my heart." The green eyed girl said in a disheartened tone.

"Ooooh!" the pink haired girl said as her curiosity knocked her from her stupor. "What's her name?"

"Glath" she said solemnly.

"Can we meet her?" asked the former titan.

"… She's… back where we were… before we came here…"

"… She's in Go City?"

"…yeah"

"Where?"

"Why?"

"So we can take you there, Duh." Jinx added in before the titan could.

"… the park."

"She's… in the park?"

Those were the last words spoken by the group, who immediately sunk into the floor as the immense amount of shadows and darkness around them pooled beneath their feet.

"… there she is…" the jade haired girl muttered to herself.

"… Ranst… that's a tree..." Jinx said in a dull voice.

"So she was bound by him as well?" The former titan asked, maintaining a gentle voice as she asked the quivering girl beside her.

"Yeah… same as me."

"O. K. I have _nooo_ idea what you're talking about."

"… you don't want to know…" Raven muttered to her. Jinx's expression sobered as she heard hers speak in such a tone.

She could tell, she really was better off not knowing.

So she sighed, "Sorry…"

"You have nothing to apologize for." The empath said, before turning her attention back to the girl beside her.

"Why didn't you tell me?"

"Hmm?"

"I could have saved her, why didn't you ask?"

"I couldn't ask so much of you… even after you saved me, how could I even consider something like that… I have no right to-"

"Yes, you do. That's what friends are for." The former titan said before taking quick steps towards the oak tree that loomed before her, much to the confusion of her love, and shock to the jade haired girl, she placed both her hands on the massive trunk, and she asked it.

_Do you wish to be free?_

She heard its rueful response.

_Yes_

Ranst laid on her back on her large bed, her chest gently rising and falling with every breath she took. She couldn't sleep. Not at that moment in time. She couldn't stop thinking, that the love of her life would soon be with her once again, such a thing she had never even dreamt of. But so clearly could she remember the feeling, the all-consuming warmth that filled her heart, the feeling of touching her soft skin, the feeling of simply lying beside her.

Among her blurred past, she remembered Glath so vividly. She could never have forgotten her, not in all of time.

However… not once, after she was freed, did she visit her love. It would have been far to drear, to watch your love lifeless, rooted to the ground, who can do nothing more than be.

She couldn't have bore such a saddening meeting.

But this would change, she reminded herself, she had been told, after three more damnable days, that she would be with her love again.

This thought, and this thought alone, lulled her into a peaceful and for the first time… blissful sleep.

Sixty-Six hours later

There they stood, the thief, former titan, and jade haired girl, all stood before the massive oak tree in the familiar park of Go city. It had been three long days since that day, and all those passed hours the green eyed girl had spent thanking, thanking everyone, for everything, as though she wasn't worth the effort. Her praise had ceased on the titans words, she had said, '_You have nothing to thank me for, I did it because I wanted to.'_

All those painful three thousand nine hundred and sixty minutes later, there they all stood, however, unlike their last visit, a gently breeze served to accentuate the good mood among the girls. The former titan took several steps forwards to the base of the tree, and as last time, gently placed her hands on the callous bark.

And she spoke.

"You are free."

In an instant, the tree was gone, the gaping hole beneath it crumbled inwards, forming a crater where its roots had long since taken haven. The jade haired girl dashed forwards across the grass, and arrived just in time as a girl formed from the light in the trees place. The girl fell forwards into her arms, as the rest of her features formed. Her brilliant green hair trailed out behind her, falling just above her hips, the same forest lips spread into a faint smile, the familiar neon lime eyes weakly blinked open in a daze.

The thieves observed the scene, hand in hand, watching the tears fall from the jade haired girls eyes.

"Glath…" she gasped through the streaming tears. The girl in her arms strained, craning her head upwards to see, she recognized that voice, and no matter how weak she may have been, she would fight with all her strength. Her eyes widened, and tears began to form, trailing down her cheeks.

"… Ranst…" she choked out.

The jade haired girls pulled each other into a tender embrace, the tears still pouring to the ground. And like this did they, as well as the thieves, vanish.

Raven concentrated, her hands hovering above Glaths still form, which lied limp on Ranst's bed, as she willed her muscles and tendons to strengthen once again. Her fingertips glowed a blinding white, and steadily dripped from her hands to splash against the girls exposed skin, and absorbed into her body. After several tense moments, she removed her hands from their posts with a sigh, and much to the observers delight, gave a gesture indicating she would soon be fine.

Ranst, after hearing the news, smiled and leaned over her loves sleeping form, planting a chaste kiss on her lips.

"You know, you two look a lot alike." Jinx confessed vaguely, a confused expression on her face.

The conscious jade haired girl sent her an incredulous look.

"She's my twin."

"Huh… wasn't expecting that. You?" she asked her cohort in crime.

"I already knew."

"Fantastic. Well, I don't really care that much about this type of thing. So congrats, m'glad you two can be together again."

"Don't think I could have said it better myself." The former titan said dryly.

"Helping or hurting, Raven. Anyways, is she 'gonna be alright?"

"Give her some rest, she'll be fine."

"Speaking of rest…" the pink haired girl said while stretching her arms above her head and loosing a prominent yawn. "I'm _damn_ tired-nay, _exhausted_, heavy with fatigue even, what time is it, Miss?"

"… late." She muttered with a dull look, it was indeed, rather late in the day, the girls rehabilitation having taken the remaining sunlight, as well as a sizable portion of the moon.

"That time _already_? Well fuck, we'd better get to bed then" She said in mock surprise before pulling the titan to her feet and leaving the room with her in tow.

"Night!" she bellowed over her shoulder, before violently slamming the door shut, leaving the jade haired girl fondly caressing her loves cheek with her fingertips, a content smile on her lips.

They were finally together again.

"Hey, Raven."

"Mnn?" she moaned from the girls chest. They had indeed gone to bed, and several hours later, had actually tried to sleep. However, the thief was the first to break the silence.

"Lets make a deal." She continued while mindlessly tracing random shapes on the small of the titans back. "If you steal something, I'll give you a hot oil massage."

"No"

"I'll let you give _me _a hot oil massage?"

"No."

"We'll give each other hot oil massages."

In her drowsy state, such a prospect would not be allowed to pass her by. "Steal what?"

"I dunno… something. I'll work out the details later."

"… Sure…" the violet eyed girl said before cuddling further into the other girls deliciously warm chest. "Steal later, sleep now."

"Yes Mistress." She muttered with a grin.

**Chapter 3: Enter, Jacuzzi**

**This Aint A Story, It's Another Damned Epithet**

**Chapter 3:**

There they were, curled up on the lime eyed girls king size bed, stark nude.

"Glath?" the jade haired girl muttered to the sleeping form.

"Mnn…" she groaned as she squirmed around, her body having fully restored to functionality, and having some serious kinks to work out. She looked up at the girl beside her with a sleepy smile, her body still requiring and desiring rest, understandable, considering the time of day had not much changed since she had been healed.

Ranst smiled warmly at her love, and planted a quick peck on her forest hued lips. "I…"

She flopped back down onto her side, facing the girl and staring deeply into her lime green eyes.

"I missed you… Glath…"

"I… missed you too…" the other girl said drowsily.

Ranst grinned at the girl beside her as a sensation she had not felt for an eternity filled her heart.

She felt warm once again.

Truly warm.

"…lets get some sleep…" The girl said with a chuckle as she watched her twin blink profusely in an attempt to keep her eyes open. She inched forwards and loosely draped her arm over her loves shoulder, nuzzling her cheek into the girls neck.

"Goodnight… Glath…"

She was already asleep.

And the jade haired girl would make sure her love had pleasant dreams.

Ranst smiled contently as she pressed her face against the other girls slowly falling chest, she hoped that the girl beside her felt as wonderful as she did. The lime eyed girl gently turned her head, not wanting to awake the soundly sleeping girl. She tenderly kissed the skin between her loves lazily rising breasts, trailing her way downwards the warm, tender skin. She sighed to herself as the sleeping girl moaned in her sleep.

Once again she smiled to herself, as that unfamiliar thought played over in her mind.

They were together once again.

"Are you _sure_ I agreed to that?"

"Would I lie to you?" the thief frowned at the former titans unchanged expression. "Yeah, you did."

"… well, whatever…"

"Okay. I have the _ultimate_ challenge for you." She chirped with a grin. Ecstatic that her love would be committing her first felony-well, her first _planned _felony. The thought nearly brought tears to her brilliant pink eyes.

"… What is it?"

"You steal something, and I'll steal something at least ten times _bigger _than it! Cool huh?" She said with a sly smile. Through her somewhat careless façade, she had in actuality thought her plan though. The thief hoped her love would be focused on what _she _would steal, and not what the titan would take herself.

"… I'll steal… _something_?"

"Don't worry, start out small, we'll take this step by step, okay?" the thief said in a reassuring tone.

"Alright… I accept. And, Jinx?"

"Hmm?" she grunted in a daze.

"Thanks… for understanding."

"You've got nothing to thank me for." The pink haired girl said in an over the top tone of voice, mimicking the titans much earlier comment.

"… shut up…" the empath muttered while glancing off to the side.

There she stood, her bright pink eyes roaming the massive object before her. After her deal with the titan, she had been lounging about her various favorite stores, browsing for any products she adored and could never in all her life afford. Her arduous journey had taken her to Home Depot, and there the thief stood, frozen on the spot, taking in all the magnificent glory of the _thing_ that was sprawled out before her. The pink haired girl knew, she would steal that damned thing, she however, as of then, had no clue how to stalk out of the automatic doors with such a massive object in tail. However, this problem lasted for not much time, as she bolted her way back to the apartment, 'borrowed' a car, and drove back at high and untrained speeds, she had never taken drivers education, but however, was adequate enough to be considered worthy or the task.

And that task was driving a red pickup truck.

Her first stop was to pick up several swimsuits that she thought humble enough to clothe her and her companions. Soon after claiming several, and rather shamelessly walking from the store, not getting stopped or caught even, she trekked her way back to the truck, tossed the clothes in, and sped off into the distance.

Now before the looming structure, the thief carelessly flung open the door, and hopped out of the space, slamming the thing after her, she waltzed her way over to the few men outside the store.

"Any of you wanna' make twenty bucks?"

"… a hot tub…" the titan muttered as she blandly observed the space where her plush pink couch used to lie prostrate on the floor, inviting her to take a seat. Now, in its place, sat a rather bulky Jacuzzi. It was fully operational, she could faintly hear the bubbling water from under the jet black cover, that from the looks of it, would be pulled automatically with the push of a button.

So there she stood, eyeing the giant tub of steaming water, and wondering to herself, how in the hell could the thief have gotten away with a damn hot tub? It was bigger than a couch for gods' sake!

Right on queue, the pink haired girl waltzed into the room with a brilliant smile on her lips, however, donned in a rather skimpy two piece pink bikini. She beamed at the titan before her.

"So? Wha'd'ya think?" she chirped.

"… A Jacuzzi?"

"Yep!" she said in the exact same tone, one much akin to a giddy schoolgirl.

"… It's… a Jacuzzi… why would you steal a Jacuzzi?"

"Well, we had a deal, and I thought we could use a bigger bath." She said while exuberantly gesturing to the very space-consuming rectangle.

"Yeah, that you would steal something ten times bigger than what I did…" the former titan muttered before glancing off to her theft on the floor, where it had rather gracelessly dropped from her hands the moment she entered her apartment. "I stole a camera …"

She continued to vacantly stare at her prize, a jet black box, containing her '_Finepix_ Z10' digital camera. The smallest thing she found in that damnable electronics store, she was still fairly uncomfortable with such a petty theft. The former titan continued to have much to learn.

"That's more than a thousand times bigger than a camera."

"Hey, I said ten times or _more_. And besides, now we own a Jacuzzi! How are you not excited?" She bellowed before dashing over to the thing and violently jabbing an indentation on the cover, which promptly slid off like a boneless mass. "A JACUZZI!" she shouted.

"How did you even steal this?" the former titan asked, her curiosity getting the best of her shock.

"Oh, yeah. I had some guys help me run it to the truck, speaking of which, we can't go back to Home Depot, I still owe those guys twenty each."

"We don't _have_ a truck."

"Well we do _now_. I'm actually a pretty good driver, If I do say so myself."

The dark haired girl twitched for a moment before stalking her way over to the blind-covered window. She silently prayed dear god that she would not see what she expected. However, the gods were not in at that time, she was forced to leave a message. So, there, in all it's shiny new glory, sat a bright red pickup truck, with what seemed to be custom pink streaks. She turned her attention back to the girl, who was now soaking in the tub with a rather content look on her face.

"You… you stole a truck?"

"Pheh." She said with a wave of her hand. "Nah, just barrowed it from a neighbor, nice guy really, but he should learn not to leave his keys inside his _unlocked_ apartment on the third hook closest to the door. Really, people need to take better care of their possessions"

"You left it parked just outside… he'll find out."

"Nah, I painted it, like it?"

"What did you paint it _with_?"

"A sharpie."

"...Good lord."

"You _know_ you love it."

Raven chuckled to herself at her loves thoughts. She was so carefree, so damn apathetic to any consequences whatsoever.

She was someone she desired to be, in a sense.

"Hey, you getting in or what?" the thief said while agitatedly patting the rim of the Jacuzzi.

"I'll admit… I was a bit skeptical at first… But" the former titan trailed off as the various jets continued to massage her back.

"See? It's great, right?" she pointed accusingly to the pair of jade haired girls across from her, "They like it too, so it's _aawwl _good" The pink haired girl paused for a moment, "Now all we need to do is order a pizza and freak out the delivery guy."

"No." Raven moaned from her perch on the side of the tub, uncaring as she steadily dripped water onto the carpet.

"C'mooon!"

"Nuh-uh, I'm the only one who gets to see you naked."

"I'm not _naked_!"

"That doesn't qualify as clothing, and you know it." The former titan said while jabbing the girls miniscule swimsuit. "At least theirs covers something!" she pointed to the girl across them, who were donned in matching green one pieces.

"… Are you embarrassed Ravie-kins?"

"No."

"Hah, you are, aren't you?"

The violet eyed girl simply glanced off to the floor with a faint blush on her normally pale complexion.

The thief smiled contently and got to her feet, splashing her way over to the titan, and loosely wrapping her arms around the girls slender waist. She pulled the titan back into the tub and sat her firmly in her lap.

"You know I'd never make you do something you don't want to, right?" Jinx muttered into the girls' ear in a reassuring tone. "So don't worry about it, K?" She said before plopping the girl beside her and planting a chaste kiss on her lips.

"_You _need this more than any of us, just sit back and relax."

Raven glanced over at the thief with a faint smile. "Your soft side's showing."

"Only for you." She said with a grin.

Later that day

"Okay. We're going to desensitize you to stealing. And as far as I know, the only way to do that is to steal." The pink eyed thief said in an excited tone, the familiar giddy grin on her lips, her hair once again lied prostrate against her head, down and thrown back over her shoulders. She continued, "So. We'll go in, look around, find something, and walk out. Raven?" Jinx said as she noticed her love blandly glancing around, seemingly having not heard a word she said.

"… hmm?" she grunted as she zoned back into the task at hand. "What?"

"Were you listening?"

"… sorry… "

"Right. Well, anyways. Lets look around, K.?"

"… sure"

"You really don't want anything?"

"I have everything I could ever want right here." She said while pulling the thief into a tight bear hug.

"Huh. Your cheesiness aside, just pick something _completely_ random… Like… this, for example." The pink haired girl muttered while picking up a CD. "Hey, wait! I totally wanted this one, _I'm _taking it!" She said at a rather obnoxious level.

"Jeesh, tell the whole world why don't you."

"I will just to _spite_ you. HEY, EVERYONE! I'M STEALING THIS!" the thief bellowed, for a moment attracting many curious stares, ones that were immediately removed, either from disinterest, or dubbing her 'crazy' and moving the hell on.

"See? No one cares. Now c'mon, get _something_."

"… right…"

After several moments of no movement, the pink haired girl loosed an audible sigh as she observed the former titan twitch. "Look, If you're still uncomfortable with this, we can try another time." She said in a comforting tone.

"… You sure?"

"Damn straight I'm sure. So lets get out of here."

So they both left, hand in hand.

**Chapter 4: Enter, Jello**

**This Aint A Story, It's Another Damned Epithet.**

**Chapter 4:**

So there she was. Groaning as her hands roamed the bed underneath her, vainly attempting to find the body that they incorrectly assumed would be beside them. The limbs soon halted their actions as they realized something.

They were the only ones in the bed.

So the titan sat up with a moan, gently brushing the thin sheets off of her clothed body, her violet eyes mindlessly searching the dimly lit room in a daze. And once again, she realized something.

The thief was not in her room at all.

She knew it couldn't be serious, however, being the first time that she had regained consciousness without the thief, she was beside herself.

Damnit. She was worried.

The former titan weakly stood from the mattress, rubbing her eyes in her palms in an attempt to smother the fatigue that she had retained. The blue haired girl took a deep breath, extending her arms, and arcing her back as she cracked out all the kinks she had accumulated in her rest. After a rather satisfying crunch, she padded her way out of the room, maintaining a calm composure through the fret. As she stepped outside, her skin prickled as the frigid air kissed her body, quickly turning her head, she glanced into the kitchen, where as she thought, the freezer was agape. After prying her feet over to the device and shutting it, she finished her trek from the now open door and absently entered the living room, promptly stopping her search as she came across her subject.

"Hey Raven." The thief gave her morning greeting with a smile, not shivering in the slightest, most likely due to the black overcoat draped around her shoulders.

"Why is it so cold?" Raven questioned while absently rubbing her arms with her hands.

"So the Jell-O could cool." The pink haired girl said with a shooing gesture. "I honestly didn't think it would work, but _I _showed _me_. That's for sure." The girl got to her feet from the floor and padded her way over to the Jacuzzi, which was after the previous night, still resting inside the apartment. With a grin, she flung off the cover.

"… You… You turned the Jacuzzi into Jell-O?"

"Yep." She chirped.

"Wh… wh… wha…"

"I wanted to see if I could stand on it, and sure enough," she mimed a sinking motion with her hand, "sunk right the hell in."

"... yo… you…"

"Took damn near an hour to get out."

"… When did you… "

"I swear, stealing all those Jell-O packets took one hell of a long time."

"… wh… "

"I had to cool it too. That was the first _annoyance_."

"What… why would you-"

"But it was _totally _worth it!"

"… wh…"

"So! Wha deh'ya wan'na to do today?" she slurred madly.

"I-"

"Lets work on your _evilness_." The pink haired girl said with a grin, before waltzing her way towards the other girl, and promptly shoving her back into their bedroom. "You get dressed, I'll… I'll dress you."

And she walked in.

"How are you so carefree?" The former titan muttered as they continued to stroll down the fairly crowded streets of Bethlehem city.

"Years of practice. Now c'mon. I have a new thing we can try." The thief glanced over at the girl beside her before continuing with her idea. "Okay. So I think you just don't like breaking the law. Soooo, that's what we're gonna do. Break every law at every possible moment. Yeah?"

"… what?" was all she could blurt out as she was pulled into the streets by the thief, and through the screeching halts and blaring horns, was tugged across the standstill traffic to the other side.

"Jaywalking?"

"Yep. We're starting small." The pink haired girl prodded the other girls chest as they both continued down the other side of the street.

"Okay. Again, starting small, so if you feel like you can, break a law. No matter how stupid, it's still a crime… I think."

"Yeah, it is…"

"Goody."

"I'm not really sure, but I think we broke… uhhm… five laws today."

"Which were?"

"Littering, Loitering, Jaywalking, Theft, and Vandalism."

"I don't really think stepping on a ketchup packet counts as vandalism."

"Hey, someone's gotta clean it up, it's the same thing."

"Wait… you were counting the ketchup twice?"

"Hey, you dropped it."

"And a free sample doesn't count as _stealing_."

"Nowhere did it say free."

"Because _you _took the sign. Wait.. you're the one who stole something too… did I actually do anything?"

"… yeah…"

The former titan draped her head and slouched over with a sigh. "Why can't I do anything?"

"Oh. You stole that camera, remember?"

"No… I bought it…"

A faint smile formed on the thief face. She slowly stepped forwards and pulled the moping titan into a tender embrace, nuzzling into her neck. "I know something you can always steal from me…"

"… what?..."

The pink haired girl closed for a quick meeting of the lips.

"A kiss."

**Chapter 5: Enter, Duck Duck Goose**

**This Ain't A Scene, It's Another Damned Epithet**

**Chapter 5:**

"How do I look?"

"Like a nineteen-eighties pimp." The thief said with a chuckle.

"Think the Cane's too much?"

"Jus'a'lil'bit." She slurred madly.

The former titan released the cane from her hand, leaving it to drunkenly hobble its way to the multi-purpose key hook by the door. After mindlessly prodding the top hat rather contently perched on her head, she sent a glance to the thief, who was violently hopping on her left foot in a vain attempt to force one of her trademark boots onto the damned thing.

"You think I should wear the hat?" the empathy asked.

"Yeah I do, it looks cute, don't you dare take it off." The thief, after smashing her foot on the ground, and successfully attaching her shoe, took casual light steps to the titan, pulling her by the hand to the door.

"Lets go."

After some incessant encouragement, Jinx had succeeded in convincing the former titan into allowing her to drive them both.

So there they were, the thief in the drivers seat, holding no previous experience under her belt, which stood idly on the sidelines, shouting at her to clip in for her own safety.

Like most 'convincers', it went ignored.

"So… where're we going?" the pink haired girl asked while continuing to careen down the streets of Bethlehem city.

"… what?"

"Where are we going, exactly?" she asked while steering around a stopped car.

"Jinx… _you _invited _me._"

"Really?" the pink eyed girl said incredulously while glancing at her.

"… Are you… serious?"

"Okay… where'd I invite you to?"

"You said it was a surprise."

"… Are you _really _sureeOLYSHIT!" she bellowed as she screeched around a 'left turner'.

"That jackass scratched my paint!" she shouted as "her" red and blue pickup continued down the streets.

"No problem, you can fix it when we get home." The empath said while holding up an innocent looking sharpie, one that she had promptly found on the dashboard. After aimlessly tossing the thing back over her shoulder, she realized with a grimace,

"Jinx?"

"Hmm?"

"If you don't know where we're going… _why _are you still driving?"

"… oh yeah, huh."

"You've been really… _ditzy,_ lately."

"Really?" the thief turned to look the girl in the eyes.

Raven casually took control of the wheel to swerve around a crossing pedestrian, who had rather idiotically chose to cross in front of them. "Yeah, really." She watched contently as her love turned her attention back to the road. "… that's why I love you, though…" The dark haired girl pulled her love down into a loose embrace, leaving the outer world to fend for itself.

"You're so… carefree…"

"In a good way?"

"Is there any other way?"

"… Hey, Raven?"

"Mnn?"

"… Can I wear your hat?"

"I have a better idea."

"This one looks similar." The former titan mumbled as she intently studied the pair of black, suede tophats held in her hands. "Here," she said while handing the hat to the thief, "Try this one."

"Sah-weet." Jinx said while plucking the hat from her loves hands, who sent her a confused look as she turned around and strolled back several steps.

The thief tossed the hat atop her head, spun on her heels, and proceeded to 'pimp walk' her way back to the titan, leaning back, using a mock cane, as well as a faked limp.

"Oh. My. God… tss… ghn… heh… HAH!" Raven broke into hysterical laughter, clutching her gut and bending over as the mad chuckles continued to spew from her mouth. She would have maintained her composure had her loves antics not been so… well, amusing to her.

But they were.

"Oh Raaaavie." Jinx sung, now standing before the former titan. "_You _just laughed." She said while prodding the girl in the chest, the same, silly grin on her lips.

"Tss… so?"

"I mean _really _laughed."

"…but… ghhn… it was funny." She said between rather un-ladylike snorts.

"Well, I aim to please." Jinx said with a grin. Offering out a cocked elbow, she asked the former titan, "Leave?"

She took it. "Lets."

There they were, both arm in arm, casually strolling down the streets, which was due to several factors.

One, it was in fact, a beautiful day.

Two, Jinx felt like walking.

Three, their car had been reported to the police, and was currently being hauled off to be impounded.

They'd left some seriously confused cops behind.

So, one lost mode of transportation and teleportation later, there they both were, growing consistently more and more tired of the glaring sun _and_ glaring pedestrians.

"You wanna' stop somewhere? I'm getting tired."

"Yeah." The former titan said while adjusting her tophat to more effectively block the damnable sun.

"There fine?" the thief asked as she pointed to a Tower Records, which ominously loomed off in the distance.

"Sure, I guess."

"Ugh… I hate rap…" Jinx vaguely said as she flipped through the albums, her distaste for the particular form of music plainly showing in her expression.

"Why?"

"All they do is swear and talk about gangs and killing people, if I wanted to hear that I'd give some angry-ass old man a Rubix Cube."

"What kind of music _do _you like?" the former titan asked as she continued to aimlessly browse through the selection before her.

"I dunno… scream-o I guess…"

"Why?"

"Well, you know how people say all it's about is death and cutting youself?"

"… yes?"

"Well they _do_. Anyways, it's not. Most of it at least. Even though it's not really singing… somehow, it's soothing, relaxing, ya know?"

"No, not really… I don't listen to music that much." The dark haired girl said with a chuckle.

"Well we'll have to fix that, wont we." The thief said as she turned on her heels, pulling the girl into a tight embrace and dragging them both along the thinly carpeted floor, towards her preferred genre.

"We'll start with some of my favorites; I think you'll like them."

Arriving at her destination, some distance from the front rack of new releases, she sifted her way through the masses of CDs, at times snatching disks from the rack and violently hurling them back over her shoulder, to crash off in the distance.

Apparently, some Rap had swaggered its way into the section.

"OHMYGOD! I didn't know it came out yet!" Jinx bellowed as she quickly snatched an album from the rack, as though it would be devoured. "Sweet! This is _perfect_!"

"…huh?"

"These guys rock, if you like _them_, then we're in the right place. I think there's a listening station over there."

"…Duck Duck Goose, huh?"

"Yep."

After listening to multiple tracks, she was actually quite fond of it. Sure, it had taken a bit of time to adjust to the sound, but after a minute, she had come to appreciate the noise, appreciate the words, even if she had to look them up to understand them.

Which had led to their current placement.

There they were.

Jinx, with a shirt full to the neck with various CDs, and Raven, casually standing beside, and idly toying with the brim of her hat.

"This is ridiculous."

"Tsss. Like a _fox _it is." She said with a mock-scoff.

"We can't just walk out like this." The former titan said while gesturing to the thief, who boasted a rather corner'y beer belly.

"It's easier than holding them."

"… Well, whatever."

"That's the spirit, now c'mon, we gotta go."

And thus began their journey to the door of tower records, the translucent pieces of glass looming in the distance as a way out with their merchandise. Jinx broadly smiled at the man at the counter, who sent her a curious look, before asking her to stop.

"CHEESE IT!"

"Real smooth, Jinx."

"Hey, it worked out."

"I should never've doubted you." She said dryly.

"Damn straight. Now all we need's some MP3 players, a computer, and an internet connection."

"… wait… what?"

"How else are we gonna listen to them?"

"Well I get the MP3 Players and the computer, but you can't _steal _an internet connection…"

"Well, technically speaking, no. But we _caaaan _use someone elses'."

"Where are you going to put the CDs while you steal the computer?"

"I'll figure that out later, now c'mon, I think I see an electronics store."

"Hey, can I have a bag?" the thief asked the rather gruff looking man at the counter.

"Ghnnn, sure." He said with an obnoxious snort, pulling a plastic sheet from seemingly no where, and aimlessly tossing it in her direction.

"Thanks Jim."

"It's John."

"Jeff."

"_John_."

"Please, Jeremy, I don't have time for twenty questions." She blurted before turning on her heels and stalking off the her love, who patiently waited with a small smile.

"Here, you hold it."

"Yes, mistress"

After dumping the numerous CDs from her shirt into the then filled-to-the-brim plastic bag, they both walked towards the electronics section.

"Gimme yer best computer!" the thief shouted at the rather plump man stationed at the counter.

"We only have two, miss." He said in a nasally voice.

"Well, which ones better!"

The man bent over, retrieved a bulky box from behind the counter, and heaved it onto the glass with a grunt.

"Here it is, miss."

Jinx simply stared at the thing before her, and with a grimace she realized something.

There was no way in _hell_ it would fit in her shirt.

Which left one option.

"CHEESE IT!"

Several stores and chases later, both girls had retired to their shared apartment, dropping their stolen goods carelessly to the floor with resounding thumps.

"Oh my god… I'm exhausted…" the thief said between gasps for breath. She had achieved her all time record, eight successful -if only minor- thefts.

… seventy five, counting all the CDs.

After a day of hauling around –what was most likely a human equivalent- of products, it was no surprise she was tired.

"… me too…" the former titan muttered as she slumped onto the floor, not even lifting her arm to remove the hat atop her head, however, merely telling it to go to the closet.

It lazily floated away.

"Hey… Raven?" Jinx said between breaths.

"Uh?"

"Help me to our room?"

Jinx nestled into her loves neck, fondly nuzzling into the warm flesh, she let out a content sigh.

And there they were.

Entwined on the small twin size bed

"… hey, Raven…" she said sleepily.

"…Yeah…" the former titan said in a similar fashion.

"I really… had fun today… with you… "

"… Me too…"

**Chapter 6: The End, For Some Reason**

One year in the future

Shades writhing beneath it, the Wraith clawed its way along the metal encased ceiling, talons slicing into the metal without any resistance. The cloaked figure continued mindlessly dragging itself above those pitiful guards. It would have scoffed in amusement at its pure superiority. However, the shadow fiend had another agenda, and among its decided tasks, maintaining an incognito persona was among the most decisive. After tearing its single, bloodshot eye from the ignorant patrolmen, it resumed slicing the steel, all without making a single sound.

The Wraith knew its duty, and it would complete it.

However, stalking along the ceiling was not among its various habits.

It never was.

Never in all eternity had there been a hiding Wraith.

How disgusting, it thought to itself, that it was forced to betray its true nature, the hunter of souls, the bringer of darkness, the very essence of death itself.

And it cursed.

For it knew its liaison to its master, always and forever bound to its word.

It was encoded in its very existence, a strict sense of loyalty, how ironic it was, that a creature of darkness be bound by chains of honor.

Chains it could never break.

However, through its righteous anger, it was rather pleased with the situation.

It was in the process of earning its freedom.

However, nowhere did its master say that it could not enjoy its captivity.

The shadow fiend grinned wickedly to itself, its maw of haphazard teeth steaming in the cool air surrounding them.

It would enjoy this….

The cloaked figure dropped to the floor, its robe in tatters, mindlessly trailing behind it in a nonexistent wind as it dragged its chains down the hallway, through all the collateral damage, never once did its screeching chains make a sound. Its gleaming teeth glinted as its rotted, decaying lips spread further, tearing at the seams. The Fiend chuckled to itself, a low, insane chuckle, as it slowly approached the back of a patrolling guard. Harboring no sense of restraint or pity, it dwelled deep into its cloak and pulled out its dripping scythe, still streaming the life of demons long since slain. It laughed, and raised its hands, swinging down its arm.

_What do you think you're doing?_

The Wraith stopped its swing, and with a scowl, absently dropped its weapon to the floor, where it was sucked into the depths of its tattered, torn cloak.

_Nothing, my mistress. _It muttered, behind the forced respect was shadowed malice.

_I should hope not, otherwise, I would be forced to go back on my word…_ The feminine voice trailed off ominously, leaving its minion to grimace and resume its damnable trek down the stairs around the corner, all the while cursing to itself that it was forced to behave like such a dog, a pet, even.

A Wraith was no pet!

Dragging its talons along the reinforced wall, it glided down the stairs, smiling to itself as it passed directly through a guard.

The man never saw a thing.

Wraith Shiersho continued down the staircase, seething in previously unrestrained anger. With a scoff, it smashed the door at the base of the decent off its hinges, the barrier flew inwards into the darkness, sliding along the floor, sparks flashing, for brief moments illuminating the massive safe door that loomed behind them.

It never made a sound.

Sheirsho chuckled to itself as it took casual steps towards the lock, its chains mindlessly chattering and clanking to themselves, seemingly unconcerned with the situation.

"Such a waste of flesh, they are." It said with a deep, coarse voice, the sound itself grating against the solid steel walls, sparks flying from every angle and position. With a wave of its hand, the locking mechanism imploded into itself, hurling into the depths.

Never once, making a sound.

With a flash of rotted teeth, the shadow fiend encased the room in shadows, and he, as well as the thousands of stacks of American assets, vanished into the darkness.

All without a single soul being aware.

Sheirsho took along the plushly carpeted floor, scowling unholy death at everything around it. Had it not a reason not to, it would have slashed that damnable place to shreds upon entering. So unlike the flames and howls of its normal home, was that damnable urban mason. It gestured to the side, beneath its decayed hand, appeared bundles and bundles of bags, all wrapped and tied uniformly into set sizes, as was his masters command. Its scowl furthered as it turned the corner, its single bloodshot eye twitching and writhing beneath its cloaked figure. However, it grinned, as it took in the situation.

It would soon be free.

"I have done as you wish, my Mistress."

"A job well done, Sheirsho."

"And, your part of the bargain, Mistress?"

"Of course, your freedom, correct?"

The Wraith insanely smiled at the girl before it, "Yes."

"Very well, Minion, you are free to return to hell, from whence you came."

"And?" it bellowed in a fit of rage.

"Oh yes, I had forgotten. And no longer, am _I _your master."

"Much obliged, Mistress." With a final respectful bow, it disappeared in a plume of smoke, that twisted in the air, inevitably evaporating into the midst.

"… Why didn't _we _just take care of it?" the pink haired girl vaguely questioned, while placing a tender kiss on the other girls neck.

"Today was our day off, remember?"

"Oh yeah… My bad… guess I sent out the warning for the wrong date, huh?" the vixen said with a sheepish smile.

"Don't worry about it, besides, I never liked Sheirsho anyways."

"So it's a win-win?" She said with a chuckle, "I'm GENIOUS!"

"You haven't aged a bit, have you?"

"It's been a _year_, besides, I happen to know that someone _adores _my childish attitude… Now what was her name? It starts with a 'R'… Rio Grande? No… _No!_" The pink thief planted a chaste kiss on the other girls pale lips. "Hey Rae… It's you, isn't it?"

"Oh damn, you caught me…" the former titan said with a scoff.

"I have trapped the evil sorceress!" Jinx bellowed to the air.

"Good for you." Came the droll reply from the pair in the other room.

"See? Even Glath is proud of me."

"… bath?" the former titan muttered with a sly grin.

"A challenge is it? Well I accept!" the vixen bellowed as she slipped out of her shirt like a boneless mass and flung the article at the dark haired girl, who calmly sidestepped and returned fire.

After many rounds of the Pre Bath/Shower dirty clothes fight, the pair were masters of the art of clothes flinging, as the fight went on as such, a blur of crossfire, leaving both girls dashing for the bathroom, stark naked, however comfortable with the situation, being that the other living people in the immediate area were engrossed in an episode of Psych, and were completely apathetic to their nudity, besides, the lime eyed girls had other things to look at.

… Like each other, for instance.


	2. Subject 014

_an: now with line breaks mmmmn gurl yea_

* * *

><p>Anko scowls and notes that, yes, her old sensei has a base she wasn't, in her younger years, privy to. Maybe a small part of her is annoyed, even hurt by that realization- but that part of her would vanish soon. She knows that much, and soon too, that Orochimaru will have no labs left under Konoha's cover. She sends a mud clone to pop the steel flap of a trapdoor, and when no explosion shakes the earth sends another inside, the first, purpose accomplished, dissolves as she follows her clone through the vent.<p>

Her first observation: the lights are out. Anko pulls a flashlight from her belt and pads down the last steps of the ladder.

Her second observation: clean. The floors may have a thin sheen of dust but the lack of debris is unmistakable. A bit unsettling, even. Anko pulls a second flashlight and merges the beams. Her eyes and ears are strained, her nose finds nothing but age. The air is stuffy, thick.

Anko finally comes to the end of the entryway, finding a long row of doorway after doorway on either side of the hall. She crouches and peers inside the first on her left. A row of cots sits empty; unattended. The door across the hall yields the same. Anko exits and pads down the hall, her shoes echoing eerily. She turns her head left and right and finds more empty rooms; empty cots and more empty cots. Anko reaches the end of the hall and pauses. She observes the doorway deeper into the facility, noting the lack of a door but presence of a three-inch strip of metal circling floor-to-ceiling. Anko checks her back and steps over the remains of an airlock, and, berating herself, pulls a rebreather from a side pocket and straps it over her face as she continues.

She walks fifty feet down a long hall, easing over several more lips of metal as they arise. The walkway splits in two; Anko stabs a kunai into the hall and takes the right, sending a casual beam of light down the left and finding, to her relief, no abominations of nature quite yet. Anko finds another room of empty cots, around 200 total in an arrangement of four by fifty. No doubt where the trials were held. She backs out and continues along; her eyes narrow as the wall begins to honeycomb, with each segment baring its own protruding handle. Anko does not need to open one to know what they hold. She pulls a kunai and scribbles down 'morgue,' on a hanging tag, stabbing it down into the floor before turning back. She passes her first kunai soon enough and continues on down the walkway.

A minute of frayed nerves later, Anko sees clearly, three more doors, the first on her far left, the other two on the right, one five or so feet from her and the other farther off. She breathes deep and takes the first door on the right – she finds the research lab. It is orderly; tables line the walls and a quartet of rolling chairs sits in the middle, as if all four had been, at one time, occupied and simultaneously rolled back to point of collision. The tabletops are empty, no machinery and no jars of baby-soul, Anko is relieved to see. However, in the far corner, a clipboard rests.

Anko checks down the hall habitually and pads over to it, taking it up with a negligent hand. The bottom page shows, the others flipped over the top clip and previously held under by gravity. She twirls the clipboard and the few pages flop back into a manageable packet. Anko checks the room once more and walks from the room; out of curiosity, reading the first page as her shoes clack along the tile;

_Tsukushi's log: 12-05-1723 – 21:54_

_-Subject: 014:_

_Anesthetic is no longer a viable alternative, subject developed immunity to new cocktail in .072 seconds, we have been forced to take more proactive measures. Current restraints rated at 5000 pounds, straps must be circulated every thirty-six hours from strain. Doctor Fuzushi claimed we must use anti-psychotics, patient showed no reaction. Analysis found blood compromised, attending physician sustained severe injuries from sample. _

_-Projects:_

_Steroid strain - active_

_Regeneration gene - active_

_Chakra conversion - active_

_Organ bank - active_

_-Patient(s): 1-5:_

_Patients 1-5 received synthetic steroid strain 12Ba. Patients 1-4 experienced total-muscular dystrophy; deceased. If estimates are correct patient 5 will expire at 01:00. No promising results._

_-Patient(s): 6-10: _

_Patients 6-10 received isolated regeneration gene. Patients 6, 8, and 9; deceased. Patients 7 and 10 experienced uncontrolled cellular growth – internal defenses activated, patients liquefied. _

_-Patient(s): 11-15:_

_Patients 11-15 received chakra transfer. Patients 11-15, deceased._

_-Patient(s): 16-20:_

_Patients 16-20 received left eye, right hand, left leg, left arm, and right lung respectively. Patients 16-20; deceased. Subject 014 not a viable organ bank._

The words 'internal defenses' catch her eye slightly more than 'organ bank'; Anko promptly pauses her stroll and summons a mud clone, thankfully her old sensei still left the walls as bedrock so she is not short with materials. Her clone prances off down the hall into the door on the left, oblivious to the soul crushing darkness permeating the entire lab. Anko waits five seconds and follows, stashing the clipboard under her arm and aiming both flashlights in front of her. She pauses at the doorway and, after another deep breath, enters in a crouch –

She finds a second hallway parallel with the main, around forty feet wide with ten doors along the far wall. Each heavy looking metallic door bares a number: 01 on the far left, 10 on the far right. The #03 door is missing, and in a single cursory glance Anko knows that the door was removed against its will. She pulls the clipboard from under her arm and flips through the pages looking for a mention:

_Tsukushi's log: 12-12-1723 – 07:28_

_-Subject 014:_

_Restraints no longer a viable alternative. Doctors: Rajin, Kuahara, Toshiri, deceased. Orderlies: Kakujo, Surahara; deceased. Subject confined in airlock station 03, repression seals must be replaced every twelve hours and prior to entry, Doctors: Baruka, Haino; deceased. Limited vivisection shows subject's internal structure has mutated, Doctors: Makuzi, Saruko; deceased. Doctor Fuzushi proposes the patient has overgrown in-house limitations and must be transferred to a larger facility. _

_-Projects:_

_Steroid strain - active_

_Regeneration gene - active_

_Chakra conversion - active_

_Organ bank - dropped_

_-Patient(s): 21-25:_

_Patients 21-25 received modified chakra transfer. Patients 21-25; deceased._

_-Patient(s): 26-30:_

_Patients 26-30 received modified regeneration gene. Patients 26, 29 and 30; deceased. Patients 27 and 28 experienced uncontrolled cellular division; deceased._

_-Patient(s): 31-35:_

_Patients 31-35 received modified steroid strain 24Ca. Patients 31-34; deceased. Patient 35 experienced uncontrolled muscular growth; deceased. Doctors: Haruna; deceased._

"_Well shit." _Anko thinks dryly, straining her ears even more for the barest hint of a sound. She hears nothing and it unsettles her more than if she did. Anko pulls a kunai and a flare gun from a side pocket, training both on station 03 as she stalks over, flashlight rolled against the wall aimed down the hall. The lighting could not be more eerie and she doesn't want to use the flare gun, because god knows what a red tint would do to the already poor atmosphere. Also she is unaware of the oxygen concentration, and it might just be a plain old 'bad idea.'

She stands before the doorframe and, now feet from it, observes with a grimace the state of the door. It had been peeled open, three great slashes on either side, as if a beast had casually parted the steel plating as she would a crowd.

Anko now knows two things: "_Fuck." _and _"This."_ She backpedals to her flashlight and flips another page in the clipboard, glancing around every other word:

_Tsukushi's log: 12-17-1723 – 12:18_

_-Subject 014:_

_Repression seals no longer a viable alternative, projected renewal rate: 413.7 per second. However, subject has become inert. Doctors Fuzushi and myself unable to pierce skin, no further data available._

_-Projects:_

_Steroid strain - active_

_Regeneration gene - dropped_

_Chakra conversion - active_

_Organ bank - dropped_

_-Patient(s):36-50_

_Patients 36-50 received chakra infusion. Patients 36-50; deceased._

_-Patient(s):51-100_

_Patients 51-100 received modified steroid strain 24Cc. Patients 51-100; deceased._

The word 'inert' comforts her more than 'dango' ever has. Anko sighs out a bit of tension and rests her back on the wall. She flips the page:

_Tsukushi's log: 12-25-1723 – 13:44_

_-Subject 014:_

_Subject 014 remains inert. No further data._

_-Projects:_

_Steroid strain - active_

_Regeneration gene - dropped_

_Chakra conversion - dropped_

_Organ bank - dropped_

_-Patient(s): 101-200_

_Patients 101-200 received modified steroid strain 26Ac. Patients 101-155, 157-200; deceased. Patient 156 developed homicidal psychosis, Doctors: Fuzushi; deceased. Internal defenses activated, patient terminated._

Anko wonders where Orochimaru got all his 'patients.' She flips the page and hopes that backup had finally arrived on the surface, knowing that when they did Ibiki would spend a few minutes having his ceremonial hissy-fit about her ignoring protocol while his escorting squad would chortle silently into their masks. She tilts her head fondly.

Anko flips the page:

_Tsukushi's log: 01-05-1724 – 09:05_

_-Subject 014:_

_Subject 014 remains inert. No further data. Orders from above, experiments terminated. Subject 014 is to be transfe_

Tsukushi's log cuts off partway through the word 'transferred,' with a sharp line trailing from the letter 'e' to well off the bottom of the page. _"This does not bode well for me." _Anko thinks dryly, eyes traveling up and noting that the date of entry was… _seventeen minutes ago? _

"_Fuck!" _Anko's brain shouts.

"Fuck!" Anko's mouth shouts. Flashlights are now not nearly enough - she pulls the flaregun, and, heedless of inevitable demonic tint and possible explosion, fires wildly into the hall.

Morino Ibiki is not a fairy princess. He was never and will never be a fairy princess, and it can be said with little doubt that in broad daylight his face alone is enough to frighten small children. Anko is not a small child. She never was and never will be a small child, and she has, on more than one occasion laughed in the face of death, and, while it stared at her heaving breasts, stabbed it in the face. However, in the muffled darkness, surrounded by stuffy air and a loose homicidal experiment, the effect a red signal flare has on the scars and crevices of Ibiki's face causes such an unholy abomination of a sight that Anko near shits herself.

Ibiki glares down at the flare that had pinged off his chest, grunts, turns to her, and says one word:

"Protocol."

Anko's reply comes in the form of a dry rasp. She hurls the clipboard to him and burrows into the corner, wildly flailing her flashlights at door 03 as he catches it.

Ibiki flips through the pages as he pads over to station 03, glancing up after a long moment to inspect the remains of the door and comment needlessly, Anko squirming the whole time.

"Same metal as the cuffs we use." He vanishes into the room and out of Anko's vision, she wields the left flashlight like a bat and starts after him, but makes three steps before he pops back out.

"Room's in order. The thing must have just really hated-"

A groan fills the facility, the sound of a tree corkscrewing into a knot, resonating so deep that her ribcage rattles in her chest. Ibiki goes stalk still and turns to her with a sharp look. He flashes a hand towards the door in the universal code for '_let's go' _and bolts out, pausing with one foot past the doorframe for Anko to catch her wits.

A piercingly sharp metallic tear echoes down the hall and Anko is _out_. Ibiki frowns and starts after her, picking up speed as he hears thudding footfalls behind him – but he doesn't glance back, only idiots gander at death.

Anko hasn't stopped bellowing "Shitshitshitshit!" since she started running. She is an idiot. Always has been, always will be. She knows this, and she also knows that if she's gonna' get eaten she's gonna' hurt like all hell on the way out. She casts a glance back as Ibiki sidles beside her –

Red death is after them; burning like her signal flare but brighter, hotter. It rears back - and Anko tackles Ibiki down as a guillotine swipe bludgeons overhead, taloned claws tearing into the bedrock walls like wet clay. She tumbles to a stop, glances once again and rolls backward, Ibiki in tow as an overhead flare smashes a fissure into the floor – Anko pushes Ibiki away from her as a second extremity bludgeons the new space between them. A kunai leaves her hand faster than she can blink, faster than she thought she could throw.

It glows white and splashes the floor and in that moment, with serrated teeth baring down on her Anko knows she will die. Same as she knows she's an idiot, that dango is good and hot sauce is _bad_ and Orochimaru even with his obsessions and faults is _bastard_ enough to kill her with his failure.

Then - red death evaporates like a rising mist, a form falls over her and cracks her head against the tile with the sudden weight- but the form is soft; a curtain of velvet draped over her neck and she sighs just a bit, making a note to add another tally to the chart on her wall entitled 'times I escaped death by an asshair.'

Ibiki sets himself against the wall; he takes up one of flashlights sprawled around them, aiming it at Anko's prone form.

"You alive?" He asks momentarily, almost sounding concerned.

Anko flashes a thumbs up.

"… Good work."

Anko knows that's the best and only 'thank you' she will receive from Ibiki for saving him; she flashes another thumbs up.

He trains the beam of light down a bit - Anko sitting up against the opposite wall to examine whatever had landed on her. She finds a girl – curled around her waist and sleeping peacefully.

"… Huh…" Anko says.

"… Huh…" Ibiki responds.

"Say Ibiki…" She pauses to thoroughly inspect several inappropriate places, "there a naked chick on me?"

"Yes." He replies succinctly, "yes there is."

"… Huh…"

"I'm not playing this game with you." Ibiki says flatly.

"C'mon! You jump in first, I come in after and land on your shoulders. It'll be fun. You'll like it. You know you'll like it. Look, I think I see a smile!" Anko leers at Ibiki's face, pointedly at the so-_not_ curling ends of his lips. "Ah – there it is. Ah – yeah, I see it! The smile train's entering the station! _Whoo Whoo!_ All aboard the smile train! _Whoo Whoo!_ Next stop, Sugarcane Junction! _Whoo Whoo!"_

Ibiki's scowl couldn't be grumpier.

"…With intermittent stops to Fairy Princess Island, Butterscotch Rainbow Resort and Ibiki's Buttcrack! All aboard - _Whoo Whoo!_"

"Anko."

"Alright fine… Missing out though…"

-0-

"Just… don't do anything stupid. From what I understand Hokage still respects me and I don't want you defecating all over it."

Ibiki knocks on the door twice before she can indignantly respond, and hearing a muffled something he opens the door and pads in, Anko following close behind.

Sarutobi glances up from his paperwork and Ibiki snaps to attention. Anko sniffs and rubs under her nose, offering a weak wave in place of a salute.

"Ibiki, Anko." He says, "anything useful?"

Anko responds before Ibiki can stop her; she goes into a halfspin, whipping Ibiki's coat off her back dramatically and proclaiming "… Uh Oh."

The Sandaime frowns.

Anko only stares at the coat that should have been occupied by a busty teenager.

"Something wrong Anko?"

"Oh." Says Anko, enlightened, "no wonder I felt lighter all the sudden."

Sarutobi tries the other occupant. "Ibiki?"

Ibiki says nothing in response, only stares at Anko with his mouth slightly agape, tongue lashing over the insides of his teeth; looking in that moment as though he had never seen something so alienly strange and repulsive as the woman before him.

"… Ibiki?"

The scarred man shakes out his head and withholds a sigh. "We found a doctor's records," he hands over a clipboard he pulls from a scroll, "and a…bloodline subject."

"It was alive?" Sarutobi quips with little pause.

"She, was alive. And in Anko's custody… "

"Until now." Anko contributes helpfully.

"Was she dangerous?"

"Extremely."

"Anko." Sarutobi says in a manner as if he was clarifying for a small child, "you loosed an extremely dangerous experimental subject in my village?"

"… Uh… Well, yeah. That is an accurate summary."

"Tora." He calls to the ceiling, "get all the trackers we have available. Anko." She snaps off an incorrect salute and he takes what he can get. "I need a physical description, abilities, weaknesses, anything with relevance."

Anko begins to speak but is interrupted with little aplomb.

"Write it up at the front desk, hand it to the secretary. I'll take care of the rest. Dismissed."

-0-

Time past: twenty-six minutes.

Time spent searching: eleven seconds.

Anko finds the subject; lazily flipping through the air several stories above her, coated in a thin layer of red that wisps along behind her like bubbles of gelatin. Anko quirks her head at the sight, spending a moment coming to terms with the fact that a person was hovering overhead. She then sighs and shoots up a flare, a squad of mixed jounin appearing nearby as if legitimately summoned.

"Found her." Anko proclaims, pointing up at the spectacle.

Kakashi, Daijimu, and Tera glance up. Daijimu and Tera both wear masks, but Kakashi's reaction Anko can see clearly. His right eye widens and his eyebrow vanishes behind his headband.

"Is that…" He asks, disbelieving.

"Yep," Says Anko, completely misreading his question, "it's a floating naked chick."

Kakashi frowns at her response and shakes off his intuition. "Well… Now what?"

"Now we get her down." Anko says, breaking into a slight walk to keep up with the subject. The others follow suit with little encouragement.

"… Got any wire?" Kakashi asks.

"You know I do." Anko replies flatly, pulling a spool from god knows where and handing it to him. Kakashi takes it and pauses for a moment.

"Why is it sticky?"

"Just use the damn wire."

He sighs and pulls a pair of kunai from his thigh holster, using one to forcefully blunt the other before looping the wire through the ring and tying the most complicated knot he can think of.

"Don't tie a _bow_ you retard."

"Hm?" he asks, glancing to her and back down at the kunai, expression as though he, at that moment, fully and irrevocably realized he didn't know how to tie a knot. "… Ooooh... Oh, right." Kakashi pulls the bow loose and ties a knot better placed on the fingers of a captured ninja than a blunted kunai intended for purposes as dull as its edge. He hands the completed product off to Anko, who he knows has excellent aim for all the wrong reasons.

Anko unravels a good length of wire and hands the spool off to Daijimu and Tera, both of which hadn't said a word yet. She then takes the kunai in one hand and whirls it around by the wire. Kakashi, not at all surprised that she would choose the least professional and least accurate means of throwing a lined kunai, calmly pauses for a second and continues pacing with the group slightly behind Tera; who, it seemed, was confident enough in either Anko's skills to throw or his crotch to block to not toss up a single means of defense.

Anko swishes the blunted but still adequately dangerous grappling-hook of a thing around faster and faster, the ghosting wire appearing less like a string of tempered metal and more like the blades of a high-powered ceiling fan. Anko digs her feet down and releases: the kunai thunks straight down into the dirt in the most anticlimactic toss Kakashi has ever seen. It rests there, casually, mockingly. Anko sighs, hunkers down to grab the handle, and hands the kunai – blade first – to Kakashi, proclaiming:

"Your turn."

Kakashi ganders up at the form majestically twirling through the air, an effervescent slipstream trailing behind and glowing in the sunlight like beads of frozen honey. He looks down at the kunai, dirty, dull, with sticky wire tied through the ring. Such interesting contrast, he thinks as he accepts her offer.

"Ya' gotta spin it though." Anko interrupts sagely as he rears back for his throw, "it's more fun that way."

Kakashi sighs and gestures to the civilians in their path to step aside for their own safety, a moment after taking the wire in his right hand and swishing it around lazily.

"Just to be clear, am I trying to go _through_ her or _over _and loop _around _her."

"Good question." Anko replies, "dunno, old guy wasn't clear. Dealer's choice, I suppose."

Kakashi nods and goes back to his spinning. He takes a few moment, slowing to a stop and gauging the distance between them, the arc it will take, wind resistance and proper release timing. He considers pulling up his headband but dismisses the thought, as Anko would probably declare it cheating. He inhales… and exhales… and releases:

The kunai rockets forwards as if fired from a cannon; promptly bludgeoning through a nearby window in a shower of glass and into the relative darkness of the shop. A man hobbles out of the door shortly and begins raving at him from across the street while Anko snickers into her palm. Kakashi notes that if he had only released the wire a moment after, it would have looped straight over her. He reels back in the kunai and passes it off to Tera, who seems entirely uncertain of how to act with it in his grasp.

Anko will have none of that.

"Same rules, ya' gotta' spin it. Spin it like a dog's shit covered ass."

Tera heaves a great sigh, looking at Kakashi as if expecting the man to take a stand and grandly deplore her for being so rudely crass. Kakashi shrugs and gestures, as if saying, 'just do it.'

Tera looks over at Daijimu, who also shrugs. Tera sags, hands the spool to Daijimu and begins whishing it around, taking perhaps one half of a second to get a feel for the timing before releasing:

The kunai thwaps straight into Daijimu's foot. The woman goes perfectly still and glances down, along with everyone else in the group. Silence hangs over them, complete and utter silence. Tera weakly points at the supposedly dulled weapon, attempting to convey a shocked apology but the general interpretation of his gesture is '_there is a kunai in your foot, Daijimu.'_

"There is a kunai in your foot, Daijimu." Kakashi offers, as if pointing out a landmark for a group of children.

"That thing is _really _in there." Anko comments objectively, helpful as ever as she crouches down to prod what shows of the handle with her index finger. She makes an assessment of the damage and glances up for a moment, her hand taking a solid grasp of the kunai as she says,

"I'm just gonna yank this bad-boy out." At this point, Daijimu's mouth opens behind her mask. Anko does not see her lips move to shape the words '_hold on a second,' _and, in absence of wavering temperament she tugs.

The only indication of pain in Daijimu's body is a quick tremor in her fingers. Anko rises to her feet and holds out the kunai, offering it to her and ignoring the few drops of blood sliding off the blade.

"Your turn." She says, denying the existence of the pool of dark brown spreading near her feet.

Kakashi puts a hand over hers and says "you can go again, Anko." He covertly swishes a hand at Tera, the man seeing the implied request and tending to Daijimu as Anko begins twirling on once again. Kakashi pries the spool out of Daijimu's hands and shoo's her off.

"It's gonna work this time." She proclaims, for some reason breaking into a slight jog. The wire leaves her hand; the kunai rises up in a graceful curve, up over the airborne figure where it relaxes into gravity and loops around her once, twice, three times before momentum is lost and it swishes back and forth beneath like a pendulum. "Oh hells yeah!" Anko bellows, taking strong hold of the wire and giving a great tug:

The wire gives nothing, not a single inch and Anko lets out a startled noise as she is forcefully dragged along. Kakashi, wanting none of being dragged, releases the mostly unraveled spool of wire and pads alongside Anko as the woman is pulled through the dirt.

"Kakashi!" She shouts, "Help me out here!"

Kakashi, for his part, nods as if he understood her request and eyes the wire thoughtfully. He takes action, swiftly stomping a foot down on the wire trailing behind her.

"Goddammit Kakashi! Tie it to something!"

That was actually a pretty reasonable request, Kakashi notes, glancing around for a suitable anchoring point. He finds nothing.

"What's there to tie it to?" He asks, jogging for a moment to regain lost ground and continuing on with a lazy gait, not pointing out that her keeping hold of the wire wasn't accomplishing anything, and that letting go would neither speed nor slow the flying object's speed.

"There's a shitload of people watching this," Anko says hurriedly, "you might as well make them useful."

Kakashi sighs and ganders back at the crowd they'd gathered. It takes less than a moment to pick out his anchor.

"Oi, Chōza, can you help me out?" He knows Chōza the same way he knows Tera: that being, 'name' and 'general appearance.'

Akimichi Chōza appears startled for a moment but nods and plows his way through the gathering of bystanders.

"Kakashi… What are you up to, exactly?"

"Something ridiculous, I'm sure. Can I borrow you for a moment?"

Chōza nods again. Kakashi nods back, as though conveying a shared secret before taking up the spool of wire previously dragging along the ground and walking around the large man in a circle, ducking under the portion that grows slowly taut. He walks around twice more and ties the most elaborate knot he can think of.

"If you're tying a bow again I'm gonna fucking murder you!" Anko bellows from quite a distance. "Oh, right." Kakashi says, redoing it thoroughly.

He steps back a bit farther than necessary. "It will pull you pretty good," Kakashi comments, "be ready."

The Akimichi affirms with a third nod and crouches down, weight held solidly on his rear leg. Kakashi doubts a hurricane tossed tree could move the man.

The wire slowly goes taut:

And snaps.

"Fuck!" Anko shouts down the road, flat on her back and clutching at nothing.

"You wanna call it quits, Anko?" Kakashi calls to her, "I'm getting bored. And, I mean… we found her. Mission accomplished, technically."

"Fuck that and fuck you!"

"Language, Anko…"

"Look - you go get the old guy, tell him what's up: I'm getting her down!"

"… Alright."

-0-

"_Help me Kakashiiiiiii!"_

Kakashi peers up through his fingers, observing the red and Anko-colored dot glowing in the distance. He turns to Sarutobi, who, as he finds, had has face buried in his hands – embarrassed or what, he isn't sure.

"… Sir?" He ventures, faintly concerned.

"How long would you say you left her unattended?" The Hokage asks, sounding mortified.

"Maybe a few minutes or so." Kakashi says honestly.

"A minute passes and this happens." The aged man sighs, "how did this happen, exactly?"

"Reportedly, she recruited Choza into throwing her… I don't know why."

"…And that… that red thing, that is the experiment?"

"More of a 'subject' than an experiment, but yes."

Sarutobi is at a loss for words. "What do we do?"

"I was hoping you would know, sir."

"… I… I can't deal with this right now." The god of shinobi says, "Anko is unharmed?"

Kakashi unveils his sharingan and spies upwards, "Far as I can tell."

"Then we wait it out."

"… Sir?"

"The… subject is bound to come down eventually. We cannot reach her safely or accurately and even if we could, from what you told me of your experience, if high-tensile strength wire is not enough than there is little we can do but wait."

"That makes sense… I guess…" he cups his mouth and bellows "sit tight, Anko!" at slightly louder than his normal speaking voice. Defying all logic his words travel the mile or so to her.

-0-

"Help me Kakashi!" Anko shouts, holding to the other girl a bit tighter. The wind eats at her words and the low air pressure makes her head spin, but she has strength enough to mesh their legs and swear at herself violently. She notes that, 'tackling' was not her best idea, and that, should the opportunity arise again in the future, she would bail before exceeding safe landing distances.

Anko goes through several lazy spins as the girl flips through the air, her stomach churns but she is made of tougher things than motion sickness, and fear of plummeting to her untimely death or not (and if possible, she will be adding another tally to her 'times I defied death by an asshair chart') the sight is gorgeous enough to pull at what little air remains in her lungs. She feels substantial, looking down at the forest-green of Konoha; and also lightheaded.

"_Sit tight, Anko." _She hears vaguely, and knows in her chest that she has just been screwed over. Anko resists the urge to sigh because the more air in her, the better. She wonders what she can do in her situation.

A moment passes: Anko waits until the girl is flat in her rotation, parallel with the ground, and loosens her grip just enough to get a glance –

The girl is sleeping, peacefully.

_Conclusion:_ wake her _the hell_ _up_.

_Reservation:_ waking her the hell up may result in red death popping off her skull.

_Taken Action:_ stare at her breasts; wonder how they can be so perfect. Become annoyed, slap one of them. Shake out hand, examine for breaks.

_Conclusion:_ girl is heavy sleeper. Breasts are super awesome, also very resilient.

_Reservation:_ want food. Wonder if there is dango in hell. Irrelevant, if there is no dango in hell start mass riot until there is dango in hell.

_Taken Action: _focus on problem at hand.

Anko scoots upwards once they are in the flat portion of rotating. She looks long and hard at the relaxed face, and when she feels comfortable with it, takes one hand and shakes the girls head gently. Then not so gently. Then borderline homicidally.

The girl cracks an eye – red death, like a slit throat centered in her retina – she sees the clouds. Amazement, bewilderment, joy, a flurry of emotions pass over her face and the other eye cracks open as well. Anko would interject but they have stopped spinning and she does not want to press her luck. The girl blinks and yawns, stretching her arms over her head and brushing the clouds with her fingertips. She notices Anko, finally.

"… Hello." Says Anko, as though she wasn't wrapped around the girl's waist.

Red death blinks but says nothing.

"Look, can you take me down, or something?" Anko tries, keeping the desperation out of her voice.

Anko once tried hot sauce on dango. It was not her intention. It was no one's intention. It was a bottle mix-up, because her sugar-syrup bottle happened to look the same, but she didn't consider it an 'oops' or 'bad luck,' it was her fault, her mistake. Anko knows mistakes very well, she was born by mistake, raised by a mistake, and will likely die by mistake and she knows it. She knows she has made mistakes, she will make mistakes and if she ever begins to regret them she will lose herself, so she never will. But the words that leave her mouth, 'can you take me down, or something?' she regrets.

Her stomach jumps into her throat and they drop, spinning and flipping and plummeting through the air because they are not one bit aerodynamic. Anko shouts 'slowly! Slowly!" but they had built speed too fast, the air screaming by sucks the words right out of her lungs and she only hears them in her mind. Ground approaches, slow and fast, the curvature once laid bare in the clouds draws closed like a jaw twenty thousand miles wide. She doesn't scream, and though her air-dried eyes water she doesn't cry because she will meet death standing, resolute. She is not afraid.

Clarity, she sees her apartment, sees her futon hanging over the banister, sees a crowd gathered in attendance of her grand splatter. Anko hopes that at the very least she will splash the children.

Pause – they slow, no arresting of momentum to let her know; it is the sensation of standing on her own two feet – even though her eyes were open the comprehension returns slowly. Anko shakes the cobwebs in her head, looks at the sleeping girl in her arms and realizes that some things are more trouble than they're worth.

**Chapter 2**

-0-

Anko drops down from the sky like a brown and boobalicious meteor, Subject 14 landing feet first with enough force to create a shockwave that shatters every window within twenty feet; the girl plops Anko down, immediately falling asleep and leaving the woman standing there, dazed and confused and annoyed at the amount of people staring at her.

"Hi Anko." Kakashi offers offhandedly, brushing off his vest, nonchalant as always.

"Yo Kakashi." Anko shoots back, enough presence of mind to raise a hand in greeting. "Oh, and hey old guy."

"Anko," the god of shinobi returns flatly, a thin sheen of dirt covering him head to toe, "come with me. Now."

"Like, right now?"

"Right now." He says, starting off towered the Hokage tower in the distance. Anko sighs and follows after him, hoisting the unconscious Subject 14 up with an arm over her shoulder, Kakashi appears, from somewhere, to toss a blanket he'd gotten from god knows where over the sleeping form to preserve whatever semblance of modesty he knew he was obliged to. Anko thanks him - sort of but not sincerely - and he (unnecessarily) takes the other arm over his shoulder, loudly proclaiming himself a good samaritan while getting a good dosage of side boob. Anko, now traveling at roughly two miles an hour sighs and spends the next fifteen minutes of unbalanced hobbling trying to covertly trip Kakashi with her right foot. She is largely unsuccessful.

They soon pass by a spot of bloody dirt, a broken window, an angry shopkeeper and a kunai sized hole in the ground. With the red tower looming overhead. Anko turns to Kakashi and says: "I can take it from here."

Kakashi, probably looking forward to the stairwell, pauses and sends her a long hard glance.

"...I'm sorry, what?

Anko frowns. "Kakashi, stop doing what you're doing."

"I - I'm sorry, I wasn't paying attention… What were you sayi-"

Anko plants a foot in his side and pries him off, maneuvering the girl into a stable position and starting into the tower.

"Uncalled for." Kakashi calls out, staring after her, then down at his hands and sighing. He pads after her with a resigned expression.

-0-

Two thirds of the way up the stairwell:

"Anko."

"Hm?"

"Where's the girl?"

Anko cranks her head down thirty degrees and looks at the empty blanket in her hand. "Wow. Really?"

"Did you seriously not notice that?" Kakashi asks as he takes the last few stairs to her and leans on the bannister at his side.

"Nope, not really. You?"

"Yeah," He says, nodding absently, "A minute ago she… poofed…" He makes a vague gesture with his hands that Anko doesn't understand.

"What do you mean poofed – waitafuckingminute- you knew a minute ago and didn't tell me?"

Kakashi shakes his head back and forth morbidly and swipes a hand across his crotch.

"What the fuck does that mean?"

"Alright, calm down, calm down." He says soothingly, "she's right up there, see?" Kakashi points up and Anko follows his finger, spying the girl floating a few stories up in the empty space of the center of the stairwell.

"… Oh… well, cool. I guess. Let's go get her." Anko starts up the stairs again and Kakashi lags behind long enough to ask:

"You wanna' do the wire thing again?"

"No." Anko says halfheartedly, Kakashi nodding to himself and starting after her.

"How do you think she's doing that?" She asks a few moment later, tone of idle curiosity. He shrugs one shoulder and yawns.

They continue up the stairwell, Anko halfassing smalltalk and Kakashi giving equally poor responses until they reach the floating girl's level, an arm's reach apart.

"I just realized, how are we gonna stop her?" Anko asks, understandably hesitant.

"You could jump on ag-"

"Shut up."

"...You could molest her, sexually. That would be fun to watch."

"Just… Shut up, Kakashi." Anko flaps a hand at him and jumps up a few stairs to keep up with the subject. "If you don't have non-retarded suggestions then don't say anything."

Kakashi is silent. Anko continues padding up the stairs at a leisurely pace, considering a way to make the girl stop floating off without her consent. She glances up, sighing as she notes that the top of the stairwell is only a few stories away.

"Fuck it." She proclaims, shaking out her arms and hopping from foot to foot. "I'm just gonna' tackle her again."

"Cool." Says Kakashi, stepping back and allowing her enough room to take a halfstep and leap into the center of the stairwell, curling around the girl's waist bonelessly, the force of her leap enough to make the girl drift back a few feet, but continue upwards lazily.

"Try kissing her." Kakashi calls out, helpful as ever. Anko releases one hand long enough to flash him a finger, immediately curling it around the other girl as they jarringly rebound off of the far wall. She maneuvers underneath and tugs down as best she can, knees pinging off of a banister and sending them careening away.

"Not even going to buy her dinner?"

"Goddamnit Kakashi, shut the hell up!" The girl begins to spin and Anko clamps down on her waist once again. Kakashi hops up a few stairs at a time until level with her. Anko then realizes she's an idiot, presses herself close enough to hold with her legs, and lifts a hand to shake the girl's head.

"Oooi. Wake up." They continue to rise, catching underneath the second to last segment of stairs. "Wake uuuup."

The sound of groaning metal echoes down the stairwell, then a moment later the staircase buckles from underneath, unzipping itself from the wall with a series of harsh snaps strong enough to make the entire stairwell rumble.

"Well that's not very good." Kakashi comments.

A beat passes: the girl continues up though the metal holds fast; twisted over her and a "fuck!" shouting Anko like a metal blanket. It is pulled along with them, slowly tearing the stairs from the wall all the way down the building. Kakashi reacts a moment before being tossed down the stairwell, leaping to them and taking hold of Anko's ankle as his footing pulls loose and hovers below them like a massive slinky.

"Smooth, Anko."

"Shut the fuck up Kakashi!"

They reach the ceiling, a moment of silence hangs before it caves to rubble and spits them out of the top of the Hokage tower, pulling the staircase behind them. Anko, in the center of the leading mass of metal, has not stopped cursing and vigorously trying to shake Kakashi off of her leg. Kakashi casually avoids her kicking and pulls an orange book from his front pocket with a free hand.

"This is sort of awesome." Kakashi observes over the wind, glancing down at the landscape over his book, splayed out far below in splashes of green and brown and one mass of bulbous red. He swings back and forth for a moment; launching himself forwards enough to take hold of the nearby banister and sit on the hanging staircase casually, as though it weren't twirling through the air like a levitating drill.

"I can see my apartment from here…" He points out, raising his book-hand to wave at it softly for a moment. A boot pings off the back of his head and he cranes his neck around to take a look. He can see most of Anko's scowling face through the crumpled metal surrounding her.

"What?" He asks innocently.

"…"

"Maa, you're the one who told me to keep my suggestions to myself."

"Because they were stupid." She growls.

"… Have you tried _groping_ her?"

"Kakashi."

Kakashi shrugs helplessly and turns back to his book, flipping the page with the thumb of his rail-grabbing hand. A second boot flies over his shoulder and he waves at it as it plummets down to the ground.

"Damnit Kakashi, _do something!_"

"… Hm?" He grunts, sliding his headband up for a moment and sighing as his covered eye gets some much needed air. He looks down at the landscape once again, noting that it was getting… bigger, at a fair rate.

"Anko?" He calls out.

"What."

"You should hurry up."

-0-

The Sandaime Hokage flips the sheet in his hand and checks it over once more, nodding to himself and placing it in the 'out' bin. He dips his pen again and pulls another paper from the 'in' pile. He notes that timely prudence is not one of Anko's most prominent characteristics and that he should have known better than to leave her to her own devices. He wonders, still, how she could manage to possibly screw up escorting an unconscious minor to his office.

In his years he has seen many things: most of them bad. Most of them jarring and horrible in their time but with his experience, as the former and arguably current god of shinobi there is little capable of surprising him. He has sent good men and women to their deaths, seen a good friend die and a cruel opponent fall, his grandson smile and his daughter laugh. blood and tears and pale lips stretched wide: but he has not seen a staircase bludgeon through the honeycombed window across from him, and he believes that he can be excused for the surprised sound that leaves his lips. He leaps to the side well before danger, plenty of time for him to stand back and watch the column of spiraling metal shatter its way through the glass and carve through his office, ceiling to floor. He can leisurely watch Kakashi step off of the staircase and onto the remaining portion of his floor, so casually and smoothly it is as though flying staircases were his chief method of transportation. He can very easily hear Anko curse herself hoarse well after the metal monstrosity grinds to a stop.

"Yo." Kakashi waves.

Anko flops down out of the crumpled metal, cracks over a section of stairs and lands on her chest, what he assumes to be the subject beneath her. She turns her head up and flashes a hand in greeting. "'Sup old guy."

Sarutobi isn't quite sure what the bubbling in his gut indicates. He works his jaw from side to side, tongue lashing over the insides of his teeth as if forming angry, angry words not meant for him to speak. He observes the carnage that was once his office: what can only be a stairwell lying on its side, his window gone, his ceiling: mostly gone, his floor: Kakashi hops a bit closer as another chunk peels away. He can vaguely hear frenzied words from the story beneath.

"Why?" He speaks, finally.

Anko rises to her feet, climbs out of the wreckage and glances over at him just long enough to catch his eye once. She averts her gaze immediately and holds out the naked teen like a shield.

"I uh – I brought her. See?"

The reigning Hokage opens his mouth and gestures dazedly for one, two, three seconds and buries his face in his palms. He hides his eyes for five seconds more and when he raises his head he looks decidedly more lucid.

"I can see that."

"Are you going to kill me?"

"A valid question." Sarutobi replies genially, pausing in silent contemplation for slightly longer than Anko is comfortable with. "No. No, I'm not going to kill you."

"Cool."

"… So you brought her."

"Yeah." Anko glances down and promptly covers the girls modesty as best she can. "I brought her."

"And Iiiii helped." Kakashi chimes from his recline against the stable portion of the wall. He pockets the kunai Anko tries to kill him with.

"Alright. Alrightalrightalright. Anko."

She snaps to attention, correctly for once: the girl once held stable falls forwards onto her face and he doesn't sigh.

"That is her." He points at the nude form on the remains of his floor.

"Yep." She nods, crouching down to help the girl to her feet.

"The unstable experimental bloodline subject Ibiki informed me of?"

"The very same."

"Why is she naked."

"Found 'er like that."

"Why is she _still _naked?"

"I've been sort of… Busy…"

"Whatever. Being that my office is no longer… _an office… _" He grimaces for a moment. "Take her to interrogation. Isolation room six. now."

"Sir!"

"Kakashi."

"…"

"_Kakashi_."

He glances up from his book. "…I'm sorry, what?"

"Get out of my office."

Kakashi gets out of his office.

The Sandaime waits until his and Anko's footsteps fade into nothing. "Tora, Ushi; you alive?... Hello?"

-0-

Anko and Kakashi walk out of the remains of Sarutobi's office and continue down the hall, and pause at the entrance to the stairwell.

"Now what?" Anko asks, not really expecting an answer.

"… We jump down, I suppose." Kakashi responds, sounding in that moment as though he actually gave two shits about the world around him. Anko nods to herself absently, working the unconscious and still naked girl into a better grip, kicking open the door and hopping down the stairwell. Kakashi waits two beats and pads forwards enough to peer down into the darkness.

"There's another set of stairs, Anko!" He cups his mouth and calls down into the infrastructure, noting the startled fluttering as a bird settled on the brim of the roof-hole takes off in surprise.

"_Fuck you Kakashiiiiii._" He hears though only barely.

Anko sets the girl on a cot in the corner and swats the marker out of Kakashi's hand, taking another moment to pull the sheets up to her neck and pat herself on the back.

"Two birds one stone." She proclaims proudly.

"Two breasts one sheet." Kakashi amends softly, flipping the page of the book in his hand.

"Whatever." Anko says, hands on her hips as she glances around the isolation room and nods to herself. "Point is, we got her here safe and sound, no more problems."

"Actually-"

"_No more problems." _

"Maa…"

A soft groan emanates from the cot and Anko bolts from the room, slamming the door behind her and locking it out of reflex. She takes a moment to control her breathing and straightens to peer through the viewing port. Kakashi stares through the other end blandly, expression as if he were at that moment thinking _'wow, really?'_

"You weren't _there_ Kakashi." Anko justifies hotly. Kakashi shrugs with his hands and points at his ears.

"What? Oh, right. Soundproof… soundproof…" She holds her hands in view and points at him, then crosses them, then fumbles trying to figure out how one would mime 'there.' She settles for pointing emphatically behind her. Kakashi is decidedly unimpressed, he stuffs his book under an armpit, raises his hands, makes a circle with his thumb and index and thrusts a finger through it.

Anko snorts before she can control herself and promptly glares at him.

"What the hell are you doing?" A voice asks conversationally. Anko starts violently and cranes her neck around to see none other than the Hokage standing there, disappointed. She turns back to Kakashi as if expecting him to back her up verbally only to find him looking on stupidly, still making lewd hand gestures through the window.

"Did you lock Kakashi in with the experiment?"

"_No." _Anko replies, slapping the glass in the hopes that he would stop, "well, maybe."

"Just get him out of there." He replies, walking away to the observation deck. Anko waits until he rounds the corner and turns to the door, seriously considering pressing the panic button to her left and gassing the shit out of the room. The moment passes, however, and Anko unlocks the door and lets a droll Kakashi exit before closing it again.

"She's gone, by the way." Kakashi says. Anko immediately presses her face to the viewing window and sees the girl asleep not ten feet away.

"No she's not." Anko declares, annoyed.

Kakashi doesn't look the least bit perturbed. "… Hm? Oh… oops."

"Don't you have somewhere to be?" She growls, starting down the hall with him trailing behind.

"No. Not really." He says innocently, noting silently to himself that she still needed a new pair of boots. "I'm on medical leave or something."

"What?"

"I don't know." He offers carelessly, "I'm off duty, but I can't remember why… probably nothing important."

Anko nods, noting to herself that anything involving Kakashi was probably unimportant. She opens the door to the observation deck and shuts the door after he enters. Sarutobi stands with Ibiki at his side, peering at one of the many screens lining the wall. After a few moments of silence she clears her throat.

"I know you're there, Anko. And Kakashi," He says, glancing over at the man, "you were supposed to meet your genin team three hours ago."

Kakashi looks up and to the left for a moment. "… Oh, right."

Sarutobi keeps on staring expectantly until it becomes apparent that Kakashi is not going anywhere. "Go get your genin team, Kakashi."

"… I'm sorry, what?"

"_Now."_

"Fine, fine…" He sighs forlornly and shuffles out, softly closing the door behind him.

"Ibiki, make sure he's not just standing outside."

"Sir."

"Anko."

"Huh?"

"Come here."

Anko does.

"Explain how you found her."

She does. Sarutobi stands a bit closer to the screen on the wall, as if proximity would increase proportionally with picture quality. He squints and frowns. "Is she asleep?"

Anko peers over his shoulder. The camera shows a mostly empty room with a form nestled into the cot in the corner. "Probably."

He nods and mutters something unintelligible to himself. "You are dismissed."

"Cool." She says, snapping off a quick salute and exiting the room.

Sarutobi waits a minute or so and exits as well, turning right and padding down the corridor to the isolation room. He reaches it, unlocks the door and steps inside. A weight settles in his chest, filling up his ribcage and making his feet heavy. His eyes shine and he blinks it away, shoes clacking against the floor as he pulls a chair to her bedside. His bones creak as he reclines down, resting his hands on his knees and leaning forwards in his seat. A weathered hand reaches out and pulls down the sheets just enough to see her face.

He sees her jawline with three soft lines on each cheek, he sees her golden blond hair… He sees enough.

"Can it be you, Naruto?" He mutters to himself, denying the hind of hope lacing his voice. He shakes her shoulder gently.

The girl shudders and her eyes open, lashes fluttering over deep blue as they adjust to the fluorescent light. A groan fills the silent air, and she glances over at him.

"Hello." He says, pausing and continuing without interruption. "My name is Sarutobi Hiruzen… What is your name?"

She blinks, an air of grogginess settling down. "Fourteen."

Sarutobi crushes the anger from his reply. "Fourteen... Can you tell me how old you are?"

She blinks slowly and shakes her head back and forth. A thing called guilt builds behind his eyes.

"That's alright," he says consolingly, "that's alright." There is no other way to phrase it and he is short for time. "Could you show me your stomach?"

She sits up, hair sliding over her shoulder as she props herself against the wall and drops the sheet with no hesitation. Sarutobi reaches out slowly and flattens his hand on her navel, channeling chakra out through his fingertips. What flares to life is not Minato's seal. The flesh of her stomach glows deep red from within, and his hand burns as if thrust in an open flame. He recoils slowly as to not spook her, hiding his smoking palm behind his back and forcing a smile.

"Alright… you can… cover up." She doesn't and he continues on anyways. "I will be back for you tomorrow, and I'll take you out of this place. I'll have someone look after you until then…"

He stands and returns the chair to the desk in the middle of the room, exiting without another glance in her direction. Once outside he locks the door and presses his head against the metal.

"I found you, Naruto… I finally found you…"

-0-

Anko is the type of person that enjoys watching cream slowly diffuse into coffee as she teases the surface with a spoon, and, sitting in a chair for then until the near future she has time and coffee and cream and a spoon, and there are precious little things she values more than ordered down-time. She pours the cream a drop at a time and holds the cup under her nose, eyes fogging up as off-white clouds whirl the liquid light brown. A small grin quirks her lips and she places the coffee on the table before her, because there are precious little things Anko hates more than the taste of coffee.

Her eyes quirk up, noting that the girl is still asleep soundly and peacefully and still naked. She wonders where the set of clothing she asked for is as she stands and straightens the sheets that the girl had tousled in her dreams.

"Just so you know, the old guy asked me to keep an eye on you until tomorrow." She says with no small bit of pride, "probably because I'm so awesome."

"_He doesn't trust you to keep out of trouble." _Buzzes over the intercom and Anko flashes a finger at the camera in the top corner of the room.

"Not only are you full of shit," Anko retorts, padding over, rising on her toes and placing her mouth three inches from the microphone, "where the hell are those clothes I asked for?"

"_You didn't ask for clothes, you asked for coffee." _

"I asked for clothes too!" She says quickly, rattling the camera for emphasis.

"… _Ah, really? I'm sorry, I guess I wasn't listening... It gets pretty dull in here."_

"What the- Kakashi? Is that you?"

"… _No." _the intercom denies lamely.

"_What_ the hell? I thought you had that genin team thing." Anko rattles hotly, lifting herself up by the camera and pressing her left eye to the lens.

"_I sent a Kage Bunshin."_

"You lazy prick." She says with a scowl, "you know what I'd _do_ for a genin team?"

"_Softcore porn?" _He offers.

"That the one with no sex?"

"_The very same."_

"Hmm…" Anko drops down from the camera and tilts her head from side to side for a moment. "Yeah. Yeah I would."

"_Cool."_

"Now get me a set of clothes, dango, sake, and a more comfortable chair."

"_There's a bed right there." _The intercom replies, _"That looks pretty comfortable."_

"Kakashi."

"_Please?"_

"Now!"

"_I'll share my team with you."_

"No! Maybe! You get permission first, we'll talk."

"_Maa… Alright."_

[::Time elapsed: 2 hours::]

"Hey Kakashi, what time is it?" Anko asks the camera, eight empty skewers laying on the right of the table and three boxes of dango on the left. Three bottles of Sake in the middle and an empty bottle shattered in the far corner.

"… _half passed."_ He replies after a moment pause.

"Half passed what?"

"… _three."_

"You're telling me it's three in the afternoon?"

"_Half passed three in the afternoon, yes."_

"Bullshit!" Anko says, smacking a bottle on the table for emphasis. "there's a clock right behind you, just read the damn thing!"

"_Maa… six forty-seven."_

Anko sighs and bites another mouthful of dango. "twenty-two hours to go… _yay_."

"_You know what could pass the time?"_

"I swear to god, Kakashi." She growls, "you make another sex joke and I will kill you in your sleep!"

"_I was going to suggest a card game." _The intercom replies, sounding hurt, _"but now you can just forget it miss grumpypants."_

[::Time elapsed: 4 hours::]

Kakashi flips the page and sags deeper into the rolling chair, heaving a burdened sigh, as though it pained his very essence to spend his time doing nothing but sitting and reading. The pile of books on the counter underneath the wall of screens calls to him, but he is resolute, and will read the book in his hand front to back before taking the next in the series.

He pulls a cup of something, probably water since he found it in the observation deck and it is a serious offense to watch dangerous criminals while drunk, and brings it to his lips, not taking his eyes off the text in his other hand. The mystery liquid enters his lips and his first and only thought is _what the fuck __**is**__ this _as he reflexively gags and spews the stuff back out in a harsh spray, dumping the rest down his shirt in the process and -against his will- squawking loudly. Kakashi then does what he always does in those types of situations: he pretends it was on purpose.

"That feels better." He proclaims grandly, as if the liquid wasn't burning the shit out of his chest, "it was pretty toasty in here." He then returns to his reading.

[::Time elapsed: 7 hours::]

"Oi, Kakashi. You still there?"

"… _yep."_

Anko sighs and downs another gulp of sake, noting to herself that Kakashi was the type of person to avoid a menial task out of principal by occupying himself with even menialier tasks.

"I am seriously so bored right now I could… I could uh…" She tilts her head down, grimaces, and belches loudly, "I'm too drunk to think of anything."

"… _You could make out."_ Kakashi suggests distractedly, the sound of him flipping a page passing through the intercom as well.

"I guess that counts." Anko agrees dully, "it'd be more fun at least."

"_Hey, Anko?"_

"Eh?"

"_You know how to treat chemical burns?"_

[::Time elapsed: 12 hours::]

"She's been sleeping like - for like, all day. I'm – I'm like… should I be concerned?" Anko scratches her head stupidly.

"_I don't know." _The intercom says, _"check her pulse or something."_

Anko presses a hand to the girl's neck, readjusting her two fingers several times. She then freezes for a few seconds and shouts "Ohshitohshitohshit there's no pulse! There's no _pulse_!"

"_Is she warm?"_

"Uh – yeah, yeah she's still warm! Does that help?"

"_Well, if she's warm you can still-"_

Anko's hands shake, "Not the time for sex jokes Kakashi!"

"_Maa... Do CPR or something, I don't know… "_

Anko, still with shaky hands, positions the girl on her back, straddles her waist and presses down hard where her sternum curves. The girl's torso heaves up with Anko's efforts and on Anko's third compression the girl's mouth opens, saliva leaves her mouth along with air and sprays dead center on Anko's left retina. Anko, a giant bundle of nerves and demotions, shrieks like the little girl that she never was and falls off the cot sideways, rolling around and screaming "She spit in my fucking eye! She _spit_ in my _eye_!"

"_Maa…" _Kakashi says, as though he were offering sage advice. Anko spasms and knocks over the table with her foot, sending dango, alcohol, and a cup of ice cold coffee all over the floor.

"Why does it _burn_!" Anko bellows, hands over her eyes as though a rabid animal were clawing at her face, and her hands were the only thing between great slashes marring her perfect skin.

"_I'm sure it doesn't, Anko." _Says Kakashi as though she were a child woken from a nightmare, no doubt still sitting in his chair reading sedately, _"you're just scared because she died on your watch and Hokage will probably kill you."_

"Don't say that!" Anko says painfully, sitting up and ignoring the various floor-liquids seeping into her skirt and shorts, a hand still over her eye. "She can't be dead!" She stands quickly and jittery and paces over to the girl, grabbing her by the shoulders and lifting her to the camera. "She looks so goddamn alive!" And the girl does, skin flushed and warm and soft… very soft. It sort of pisses her off.

Anko shakes her a bit for emphasis. "Help me goddamnit! I don't know what to do!"

"Mnn…" the girl groans, and Anko, registering the noise a moment later, collapses, stumbling back with the last of her strength and landing on the cot in the corner. Her heart pounds in her chest still, heaving itself raw and barely slowing. Anko blows out a breath through her lips and cracks her head against the wall, holding her potential demotion close to her chest as though afraid the girl would vanish. A few minutes pass and Anko, though still weak, has strength enough to speak again. "Oi." She says softly, cupping the girls cheek pressing her close, "wake up... wake up so I can murder you."

The girl sighs out, the breath tingling across Anko's skin. She blinks awake and she glances up, eyes the bluest Anko has ever seen and still bleary from sleep.

"You alive?" Anko asks unnecessarily, feeling a wave of exhaustion wash over her. The girl blinks twice, eyelids drawing closer each blink until she peers out through a crack. "Nn."

"Good. Good." Anko says, nodding and pressing the girls face into her chest and resting her chin on her head. "You scared the shit out of me." Anko presses her hand to the girls neck, noting that there was still no pulse to be found. The girl is alive enough, though, and nuzzles into her for a moment before drifting off. Anko is very confused.

"_This is nice." _Kakashi comments, _"warm and fuzzy, even... Try stroking her hair a little."_

Anko looks up with a beaming smile and quietly responds, "You're a dead man, Kakashi."

[::Time elapsed: 16 hours::]

"B7."

"_Miss."_

"Oh the hell '_miss'_ you cheating sonovabitch!"

[::Time elapsed: 19 hours::]

"Hey, Kakashi." Anko says drowsily, standing from her chair and plopping down on the cot. "I'm goin' to bed… turn off the light would you?"

"… _Hm? Oh, sure."_

An ear piercing screech sounds off in her cell, accompanied by noxious looking smoke pouring in through the vent in the ceiling. Anko claps both hands over her ears and bellows "turnitoffturnitoff!" because she has seen what the gas does.

"_My bad." _Comes over the intercom at ten times its previous sound level. The light overhead starts flashing on and off disorientingly as well. Anko chokes on her breath and stumbles to the door, trying the handle for a moment and screaming "Oh - fuck!... Un-" _cough _"-Unlock the door!" The room spins and she falls on her knees, a one-way flow of air establishing in her lungs as she empties them further and further with each retch and despite her attempts they don't refill again. Her eyes water and her nostrils burn. A hand snags her by the scruff of her trench coat and drags her out, a metallic slam signaling the door behind her.

She blinks; and she's on her back, Kakashi looking down at her sheepishly as though he hadn't almost killed her.

"Sorry 'bout that." He offers, hands up in the universal sign of 'hold on,' "I don't really know what the buttons do, so…"

Anko rasps for a moment and adopts a murderous expression but doesn't say much. He offers her the pump he used to inflate her lungs and she takes it quickly. Kakashi stands and leans against the wall across from the door, no noise or fumes escaping but, judging by the viewing port, it was loud and wheezy in there.

Anko spends a minute or so cleaning out her lungs and stands sluggishly, resting her back against the same wall and slapping him across the face with what energy she can spare. Not much energy, as it turns out, because her slap is less of a slap and more of a fond caress.

"She's still in there, by the way." Kakashi comments after a minute of Anko's labored breathing.

Anko cranks her head over at him mechanically. "You… left… her in… there?"

"Yeah." He responds dully, "It was pretty nasty in there."

"You _left her in there?"_

"I don't like holding my breath." He offers weakly.

Anko staggers off down the hall, Kakashi appearing from nowhere to catch her when she falls and helping her to the observation deck. Anko flips off two switches, smacks the 'all clear' button and activates the ventilation. Kakashi hobbles her back to the room and opens it for her. They find the girl soundly asleep.

"_Wow_. really?" Kakashi mutters. Anko is inclined to agree with him, but she is tired and pissed but mostly tired.

"Toss me on the bed." She says breathlessly, and he does. "She okay?"

He checks. "Probably."

Anko nods. "Good. Third down from the top, white switch, says 'lights' underneath."

Kakashi nods though she can't see him.

"You screw up again and I'll haunt you forever."

"Sure, sure. Nightie night." Kakashi closes the door behind him and twenty seconds later the lights flicker out and Anko falls dead asleep.

**Chapter 3: **

-0-

Sarutobi prepares for the worst.

"Naruto Uzumaki was found today at roughly 09:10."

His council says nothing. Shikaku, half-asleep at the middle of the table, shakes his head a bit and asks what everyone is wondering. "Who?"

The Hokage sighs. "The Kyuubi vessel."

Danzo, also drifting off at the other end of the table, sits straighter along with a few others. "The vessel has been missing for over ten years, Hiruzen. Why and where did she suddenly… turn up?" He asks, resting the non-bandaged half of his face on an open palm.

"She was found in another of my wayward student's labs. Out in the southern forest, past the barrier limits."

"So the snake was the one who got a hold of our jinchuuriki, eh?" Danzo muses, seeming introspective but Sarutobi knows the man just loves bringing up his mistakes. "It isn't like him to get sloppy, though."

Sarutobi reads the obvious question and shakes his head, "It was not through Orochimaru's actions that the base was discovered. The barrier picked up an unusual chakra signature, strong enough to get a bead on the location. I sent a group to investigate, they discovered the entrance." He pauses for a moment, "Consider, what could Orochimaru gain from losing Naruto? If she was a threat to his facilities, peace of mind at most, but even then he has dabbled in more dangerous things."

The council goes silent for a moment. "Unusual chakra signature…" Shikaku mutters, just like him to focus on the most damning evidence. He breathes in deep and straightens in his chair as well. "Don't like the sound of that."

"Shikaku raises a valid point, Hiruzen." Danzo says with little hesitation, evidently wondering the same thing, "care to elaborate?"

"A trace of demonic chakra-" he frowns at the sudden humming parallel conversation and continues with a slightly raised voice, "contacted the southern hemisphere, just a faint pulse, not strong enough to cause any _damage_ before anyone becomes faint." He focuses on the mandatory civilian representative at the other end of the table for a moment, the man slightly pale, "The exact coordinates are on the barrier team's official report, but I doubt they are all too relevant."

"So the vessel is responsible for the discovery of the base and by extension itself." Danzo replies down his nose. Tsume, about to speak, shuts her mouth with an audible click. "You don't find that… suspicious?"

"You do not know Orochimaru as I do, Danzo." Sarutobi replies harshly, "he would not purposefully relinquish…" though it pains him to phrase at is he does he knows the words are true, "he would not relinquish a weapon with such power, not for some internal attack like you no doubt are considering, no matter the damage Naruto could potentially cause, he would not risk her being compromised, not still on the run as he is."

"You misunderstand." Says Danzo, the corner of his mouth quirked up though it fades quickly, "I doubt she was found with ulterior motives in mind, that is not my concern. I only wonder, what if the vessel rebelled out of his control? Razed his facility to the ground as it were, where would that leave us? With a potential Kyuubi unleashed right in the middle of our village?"

"This isn't a pissing contest." Tsume finally snaps at the man, sharp teeth poking past her lips, "we all have somewhere to be, you got something to say, say in and save your petty bullshit for someone willing to listen." She turns to Sarutobi who tries not to smile. "Out with it, why did you call us here?"

"…What I'm sure Tsume means," the Hokage replies softly, "is that your concerns are valid - but believe it or not I have some experience in the matter. I inspected the vessel myself. She is inert." He says, solid and knowing on the inside that he could not be more wrong, but he is allowed to defend the little girl he remembers from all those years ago on her behalf. "_Not_ a threat. Jiraiya is on his way to confirm my diagnosis, Inoichi is performing an examination tomorrow, you needn't worry yourself about your safety. And," He continues as he glances over at silently fuming Tsume, "the reason I called you all here is because I wish to reinstate Naruto as a citizen, or place her in a genin team if she so desires since she was declared legally dead five years back. Given her situation this action requires majority consent _so_, do you so consent?" He pauses, partly for said consent but mostly for breath.

Danzo very much consents. "Be certain that old feelings aren't clouding your judgment, Hiruzen." He says knowingly, seeming absorbed with the way he rattles his own fingernails against the table. "Are you sure this course of action is wise? The vessel has been with that snake for, what, ten years now? and you want to just, take her back? Have her mingle with the population? I know you were fond of her-"

"What did I tell you about petty bullshit." Tsume growls and he holds his hand up passively. She takes a deep breath and turns to the Hokage who just can't help but smile. "I trust your decision, Sarutobi." She faces the rest of the council, "Who else consents?"

"Aye." The ninja portion of the council sounds unanimously, the civilian representative chimes in after a moment's hesitation. "Aye."

Sarutobi nods. "You are dismissed."

-0-

"Anko. Wake up."

Anko groans and swats at the air uselessly, burying her face deeper into the futon. She hopes that she is in some sort of alternate dimension where people let her sleep for five more minutes.

"You aren't supposed to be sleeping in the first place, Anko. And _why_ is she still naked?"

"M'tired… an…sllz..." Anko almost falls back asleep but for the sudden hand on her shoulder.

"In case you were wondering this is the _Hokage_ speaking. You know, your boss? You're making me look bad in front of my minions."

"Uuun… Fine… Fine… M'up." Anko is sort of up. Her eyes won't open more than halfway but she still props herself against the wall long enough to slide into the offered chair.

"So this is Naruto, huh?" A new voice says. "How old's she supposed to be, exactly?" Anko glances over but all she sees is a fuzzy stick-shaped thing with yellow on top.

"Dango… " She enunciates slowly, almost fearfully and blinking a bit, "Have you gained human form?"

Sarutobi pauses and glances over at her long enough to ask "Anko, are you feeling alright?"

"…No. No I'm not." She slurs, nodding to herself, "An' it's all Kakashi's fault. I wanna make a _complaint_. Kakashi was _entirely_ less than helpful yesterday."

"He in that rebellious phase again?" The new voice asks though sounding as though they already knew the answer.

"Yeah." Sarutobi says with no small bit of disappointment. "Every year I assign him a genin team, and he shirks duty and generally makes an ass of himself to everyone around him until I force him to meet them… And to answer your question, Inoichi, Naruto turns fourteen this year."

"… Huh… I was not expecting that answer… Well whatever, let's get to work."

The tall yellow-topped blob slides over to the bed and weird blob things shoot out of its sides. Anko shakes herself a bit and peels her eyes open with her fingers.

"Oh. Hey Inoichi. It that time of the year again?"

"Anko…" He says, turning back to flash a barely sincere smile, "always a pleasure. And no, I'm not here for you." He turns to Sarutobi who stands near the door. "You want a full dive or just a basic?"

"If you think you can risk it a dive, if not just a basic."

"Basic it is, then."

"Pansy." Anko chortles into her hand weakly.

Inoichi shakes out his hands for a moment, raising them to his forehead and inhaling, and on the exhale he lowers them, gently placing a hand over sleeping Naruto's head. He frowns not a moment later, the expression switching to confused to disturbed and back to annoyed. A minute of silence passes before Inoichi pulls his hand back and grimaces.

"I uh… I'm not really sure how to say this." He turns around and faces a grim Sarutobi. "Naruto doesn't have a brain."

"…"

"…"

"… Yeah…"

"… What did you just say?" Sarutobi mutters with a very perturbed scowl. "I thought I heard you say Naruto has no brain - could you kindly reiterate for me?"

"Yeah I'm pretty confused too." Anko adds.

"I suppose I didn't phrase that as well as I should have…" Inoichi admits, mulling it over in his head for a bit, "Naruto has no '_mind'_ in the sense that I am familiar with. I didn't find any thoughts, any memories… feelings." He pauses in silent contemplation for another long moment. "She isn't 'braindead' because if she was I'd still find a blank slate – it's the difference between a blank piece of paper and no paper at all. There's nothing in this skull of hers. Just _nothing." _The man sounds almost pleased. "It's quite amazing, really. I've never found _anything_ like this before. She can talk, and react and interact, correct?"

Sarutobi is still frowning. "Correct."

"Then we should wake her up before jumping to any more conclusions. My technique works better on conscious subjects, so I might be able to find something if there is something to be found."

The Hokage nods and turns to Anko. "Wake her up, would you?"

Anko sniffs. "Okay." She takes a deep breath and stands, padding over and plopping down on the cot. "Wake up." She says, clapping the girls cheeks softly. Blue eyes slide open and Anko wobbles back over to her chair as Naruto sits up on the futon, glancing around curiously.

"Hello there." Inoichi says, waving a hand to get her attention. "My name's Inoichi." He holds up said hand, "I'm going to set this on your head and read your mind, okay?"

"You don't screw around, do you."

"Shush Anko."

Naruto blinks and nods and Inoichi ruffles her hair. He then frowns and tilts his head and becomes angry, then curious then perfectly confused and back to frowning.

"Well… I can't find anything." He says regretfully, "not a damn thing… Anko, get her to say something."

"She's _right there_, Inoichi. You get off your ass and make her say something." Anko's eyes drift closed for a moment.

Inoichi sighs and forces his best smile. "Right. Naruto, is it? Would you say your name for me?"

"Naruto?" Naruto says with some confusion.

Inoichi goes right back to frowning. "Unless you want to make her solve logic puzzles, I think we're done here."

"Nothing?" Sarutobi questions exasperatedly, picturing the council staring at him stupidly, spouting '_we have a brainless demon vessel?' _and all sorts of things he doesn't want to hear while Danzo cackles himself hoarse.

"Nothing _that I can find._" Inoichi clarifies, sounding decidedly offput. "I could dive to be sure, but… I'd really rather not… "

"Understandable." Sarutobi agrees absently, staring long and hard at the floor before turning his eyes up. "Thank you for your time, Inoichi. You are dismissed."

"Yes sir."

"Anko." He says suddenly, turning to her as she snorts awake. "I have an assignment for you if you're willing to accept. One you're perfect for."

"It pay?" She asks dazedly, still half asleep.

"Sure."

"Alright, hell. Shoot."

-0-

"So I guess I'll be lookin' after you for a while." Anko explains to the girl dressed in full AnBu gear, plopped down in her only chair in the kitchen. For the girl's part, she appears absorbed, eyes following Anko as the woman paces around the room rifling through her cabinets for food and talking over her shoulder.

"See, I'm what they call 'a political nightmare.'" Anko continues with no small bit of pride, pulling a large bag of rice and dumping a portion into the pot on her dual-burner stove. "Old guy said everyone worth more than two shits is gonna try and grab you up somehow once he tells 'em about yer'… empty-headedness, an' to do that without losing their ass in the process they'll have to involve me now."

She dumps a few cups of water in the pot and ignites the burner, moving on to grab other edibles from the nearby fridge. "bribes, extortion, funny hats, point is they'll need to convince me to trade over guardianship er' whatever." Anko pulls a chunk of raw meat from the appliance, barehanded and showing nothing beyond hunger as she pulls a knife and slices it into strips over a smoking pan. "And to do that they need to talk to me somehow, and political hunk a' shit that I am… not gonna' happen. It'd defeat the purpose or something, he said some other shit about me being relatable to you blah blah _blah_ but I wasn't really listening." She pads to the sink to wash off her hands and afterwards hops up and sits on the counter. Naruto continues to blankly stare at her and Anko is slightly unsettled.

"You got any questions? You've been movin' around a lot last few days."

Naruto blinks and shakes her head.

Anko much prefers it that way. "Cool." She nods and stands, gesturing around grandly at her single-bedroom apartment. "Kitchen. Bathroom. Bedroom. That's the whole tour." Anko pulls a kunai from a sidepouch to stir the rice and flip the strips of meat. "I got you a bed comin' tomorrow, 'til then we can share mine, cool?"

"…Cool."

Twelve some odd minutes pass in silence. Anko tends to the pot and pan on her stove and eventually creates two plates of food. She plops Naruto's down before her and glances around for a moment.

"I need another chair, I guess." She comments to herself, shrugging and setting her plate across the table and dropping to her knees, leaving her at slightly lower than a comfortable height but she doesn't care too much. "Eat up."

Anko then begins shoveling food into her mouth with another kunai. Naruto picks up her plate and tilts it back before her face, the action followed by Anko resisting the urge to chuckle.

She gestures to the kunai by the girls elbow. "Use the-"

Naruto sets the dish back down on the table, resting it so carefully it was as though she feared it would break. The plate is empty.

Anko pauses mid-chew. "-…utensils…" She is at a momentary loss for words. "… Uh… You okay?"

Naruto nods, eyes focused on her with unusual intensity.

Anko chews once. "… alright… " she chews again, "uh… You can go… Do whatever. Then."

Naruto nods. Anko chews again.

"…Why're you lookin' at me like that?"

-0-

"Maa, maa… Is this really necessary?" Kakashi asks absently. His full AnBu escort remains silent for a moment before the squad's Captain replies with noticeable conviction:

"Yes."

"What if I told you I was only a Kage Bunshin?" He points to the roof of a nearby building and no one looks.

"Fool me once, Kakashi." The Captain says. "You're meeting your team. That's final."

"They're probably not at the academy." Kakashi notes as he glances at the structure looming in the distance. "I was supposed to get them yesterday. Children aren't that patient."

"I had them called in."

"They might have gotten lost." He says, sounding legitimately concerned. "Alone and afraid on this winding road we call life."

"They're fine."

"What if _we've_ gotten lost?" He goes on, spooked, "what if _we're_ lost, alone and afraid on this road called life? Quick, find a map."

"We're not lost, the academy is right there. Stop spouting nonsense."

Kakashi heaves a great sigh as they enter the building and start down the hall; he is completely boxed in. "How do you know this is the academy?" He says in a manner as though he had, at that moment, stumbled by chance upon a revelation so massive it sparked his very soul, "What is sight but your interpretation of the world around you? What's to say this isn't all a dream… A dream you can't wake up from?"

"Quiet Kakashi." Captain reiterates boredly, gesturing to the uniform at his side for a moment, "You're spooking the new guy."

"How do you know that's the new guy?" Kakashi retorts immediately, "What proves that he exists? His appearance? His voice? What can you know for sure when your senses are subjective? What if he's not even there... What if _you're _not even there_._"

"A – I'm freakin' out!" Says the uniform, clapping himself on the head and jittering around, "_I'm freakin' out_!"

"Be quiet Kakashi!" The Captain snaps, "He's in the middle of conditioning – you know how vulnerable that makes you - I won't have you screwing up my recruits!"

"What recruits?" He replies softly, _knowingly_, leaning in close to the spasmodic uniform before anyone can stop him. "_I don't see anyone._"

The man dead faints, flopping bonelessly to the floor with a dull _whump_. Someone smacks Kakashi over the back of the head and he is not the least bit mollified.

"Damnit Kakashi!" The Captain moves to help the man up but pauses mid step, turning to face him slowly. "Hold his fingers." He tells the two remaining AnBu, "I don't want him running off on me." Both uniforms grab his hands with little hesitation and the Captain nods to himself, turns his back to Kakashi just long enough to toss the unconscious recruit over his shoulder. He turns back and Kakashi is still there, looking bored.

"Let's go."

He starts down the hall and pauses at the last door, quickly looking over his shoulder to make sure Kakashi is still there. He opens the door and beckons them in, the others enter though they have to slide in sideways.

The classroom is dominantly empty. Four or five rows of desks on an incline and a wide chalkboard and larger desk at the front. Two chairs and one desktop are full, two of those promptly vacate.

"There's the bastard!" Growls one of them, wearing an oddly thick jacket with an even larger fur-trimmed hood pulled over his head, empty space filled with –of all things- a puppy, which looked bored. The girl glances over at the boy long enough to drop him with a dead-leg, shouting "Language!" The last student, with black hair and a blank look, gives him one glance and turns back to the front of the room, noting with a droll voice "What's with the hand-holding? You get lost?"

The first boy rubs his leg for a moment and straightens. "Asshole is right" he receives a dead-arm, "Ouch! Goddamnit woman stop hitting me!"

The girl with –of all colors- vibrant pink hair, turns equally distinguished green eyes to him and voices "Are you our sensei?"

"No."

"_Yes." _Says the captain smugly.

"Uhm…" The girl continues uncertainly, turning to the three conscious and one unconscious AnBu members. "What are you here for?"

"Just making sure he gets here."

"What? Like an escort?" the jacket-boy asks, and, ignoring Kakashi's soft reply of _'we prefer the term 'life partners,''_ smirks at him. "Did you actually get lost?"

Kakashi ignores him completely, looking up and to the left for a moment and speaking oddly to the two AnBu at his sides. "By the way, before you found me, I was… entertaining myself, if you will… I'm not sure I remember which _hand_." He trails of in contemplation. The two recruits holding his fingers let go as if stung and the AnBu captain's eyes go wide behind his mask. He bellows "_nnnOOOO_!" glancing around in that split second for something to stop the man from escaping before hurling the unconscious recruit at Kakashi like a frisbee.

Kakashi, just a bit faster, has already transformed from 'bored man too lazy for cardiovascular activity' to 'man running from death itself' as he full sprints and leaps from the far window in a shower of glass, vanishing in a plume of smoke once outside.

"God-DAMNIT!" The Captain fumes, smashing a fist on a nearby desk and splitting it right down the middle. He turns on his noticeably quailed recruits. "Why did you let him go! We _talked_ about this!"

"Dude - did he just jump out the window?" Jacket asks in disbelief. "Awesome!"

'Green and pink' nods thoughtfully to herself. "So _that's_ why you were there."

'Bored' grunts with just a hint of 'amused'. "…Hn."

"We're _finding_ this sonnovabitch! Move out!" Captain bellows, the others (startled 'Green and Pink' included) sound off and vanish, he angrily strides over to the recruit lodged in the wall and pries him out.

"You three!" He says to the students, still in shouting mode, "Stay put! I'll bring him back if I have to _kill him_!" and he vanishes.

"…Well this sucks." Jacket mutters, kicking a nearby desk idly. "You guys wanna go get some food?"

Pink and Green frowns for a moment but, once 'bored' replies "… Hn." She immediately chirps "Okay. You buying?"

"Hell no."

-0-

"_Why are you lookin' at me like that?" _

Anko is mid eyebrow-raise when her door clicks open. She immediately pulls a kunai from somewhere and hurls it over her shoulder.

"Hey Anko," the voice that can only be Kakashi says, "You mind if I hide out here for a bit?"

Anko pockets the kunai he returns to her. "Yes. Why are you here?" She turns back to her food and notes from the corners of her eyes that Naruto is still staring at her.

"Hiding from my genin team." He says with no shame, "I figure you're the only person I know who won't rat me out."

True, Anko admits to herself. "Alright whatever, just don't be a pain and don't touch my food."

The man nods, walks over and hops up on her counter, pulling a little orange book from his thigh-pouch and flipping it open. "What's she doing here?" He questions absently, not bothering to gesture.

"I'm her guardian from now until question mark." Anko comments over a mouthful of rice. Kakashi tilts his head though doesn't raise his eyes.

"You have been trusted with the upkeep of a life?"

"Yeah." She replies plainly.

"… Why is she staring at you like that?"

"I dunno." Anko mutters, glancing over her shoulder to ask something not completely formed in her head. "-Oi! What did I tell you about not touching my food!"

Kakashi hides the bottle of sake behind his back, flipping the page with his thumb in a movement must have taken quite a bit of practice to accomplish. "Hm?"

"You stole my sake! That shit was from Kusa, you know how long it took me to get that?"

"No."

"Not that long - but that's not the point!" She calms and continues. "You broke the rules. Get out."

Kakashi sighs and sets the mostly full bottle by the sink. "Do-over?"

"No!" She says petulantly, "I'm still pissed at you for gassing me! Out!"

"Please?"

"_Out!"_

A sound like screeching metal on metal fills the room and a red blob the size of Anko's fist screams into Kakashi's stomach (Anko can see clearly, his visible eye going wide as his arms and legs curl in) and smashes him through the wall at his back, forcing him along, over the neighboring apartment building and two-hundred feet more before the red whirls itself out and drops him down five stories through the roof of a far-off building. Anko's mouth opens and half-chewed meat falls out. Her head turns slowly and sees Naruto sitting there, straight backed and arms folded in her lap, prim and proper, with red death eyes intense and focused solely on her.

Anko recoils harshly, falls and scuttles back on all fours, mind mottled with visions of claws splitting her head to toe. She remembers fires, burning tall under midnight black and helpless wails echoing clear; she remembers fear. Anko remembers wanting to hide in those flames because she knew – knew as she knows that dango is good and hot sauce is _bad_ and her sensei is just bastard enough to kill her with failure - deep in her gut she knew that there were fates worse than being burned alive, and it was waiting for her beyond the treeline, decked in red death and treading corpses like water. She remembers a hand-

Anko blinks, visions of flames gone, a hand on her shoulder and blue eyes staring back with not a hint of strife but maybe a hint of regret. It vanishes before she is sure and what remains is wordless concern. Anko blinks and shakes off the hand, sliding away from the cabinet she had backed against to rise to her feet and look at the structural damage waiting for her.

She takes a deep breath and clenches the jitters from her hands – wondering '_what the __**fuck**_**'** but unwilling and unable to say anything more than "Kakashi you bastard! You're paying to fix this!"

Anko turns to a somewhat regretful Naruto, still kneeling on the floor as if awaiting permission to rise. Anko swallows her hesitation. "Did you do that?" she asks, pointing at the man sized hole over her sink.

The girl nods.

"Uh… W-Why?"

"… You wanted him out." she murmurs as if that alone was reason enough.

Anko frowns. "Alright… Alright, don't do that again unless I specifically tell you to, okay?"

"… Yes."

"… Cool…" Anko picks the girl up by the shoulders and plops her down on her feet, clapping her on the back softly. She then grimaces as if remembering something unpleasant and starts towards the door. "C'mon, let's see if he's still alive."

-0-

"This isn't bad." Sakura hesitantly comments over her stir fry. Kiba shrugs if only to be contradictory.

"Not bad, not that good either. You know which place has good food? That one weird place by the park. 'K' something, you know, that restaurant thing."

Sakura grimaces but doesn't strike him. "Two things: one, it's a stand, not a restaurant. And two, they only sell those gross _spicy_ things."

"Pheh." Kiba chortles knowingly, "One, they don't _only_ sell spicy things, and two, getting hiccoughs is not enough reason to bitch out my favorite food."

"For _days_!" She growls at him, unfamiliarity overwhelmed by anger. "After just a _bite_! It was horrible!"

"I guess that's what you get for trying new things." He comments, turning back to his food dismissively. Sakura plants a heel in his shin through some awkward positioning and returns to eating herself.

"…And how are you doing, Superstar?" Kiba cranes his head over his shoulder to project better. "Haven't heard a word out of you yet. We're supposed to be a team, you know?"

"... 'The.'"

It is just as Kiba begins to snort despite his distaste for the boy that the ceiling makes the most awful creaking noise he's ever heard. He about-faces and watches in equal parts disbelief and amusement as the wooden panels splinter apart and spit their sensei through Iruka's desk in a plume of shame, pain, and wood fragments.

"… Oooouuuch." The man wheezes, lying still for a long moment before attempting to sit up. He tries his best but ends up rolling off the wreckage and landing heavily on his side, moaning pathetically.

"Um…" Sakura begins, the first of their team to regain their voice, "… Sensei?"

Kakashi starts, cranks his head around to look and almost weeps. "I give up… I give up." He groans, clutching his stomach and standing on wobbly legs long enough to stagger to a nearby desk and flop himself over it. A deep breath stops his head from woozing around quite so profoundly as it was. He blinks and seems to notice his team again, several rows up and still blankly staring at him.

"You my team?" He slurs, shaking out his head a bit and pressing a hand to his neck.

"I… I can't remember." Kiba says. "Did you just fall through the ceiling?"

"Are you alright?" Sakura gushes, paling a bit at the line of blood trailing down his face.

"I want a new sensei." Sasuke comments, so quietly he could have been talking to himself.

"Yeah." Kakashi replies as if in response to their observations. "Yeah, you're my team. Congrats." He waves a hand around in an attempt to remain aloofly sarcastic but he immediately winces and holds it close. "First assignment: carry me to the hospital. Think of it as a… a teamwork building… exercise." He loses consciousness and flops face first onto the floor.

"… Alright, I'll say it. I'm still pissed at him. I say we just leave." Kiba hurriedly finishes off the last of his takeout and hurls it in the general direction of the trash can.

"We can't just leave him here!" Sakura says shakily, "He could die!"

"He won't die." Kiba responds with little conviction.

"Even if he _doesn't die_," The girl replies angrily, "I don't want him to hate us! He's our sensei – we need to get along!"

"… I gotta give you that. Superstar, what do you think?"

"He can't teach us if he's hurt." Sasuke answers, the beginning of a scowl on his face.

"Alright, fine." Kiba hops off of the table. "Superstar, you 'an me'll get the arms, Sakura, you get the legs. Which way's the hospital?"

Sasuke scowls. "It's up your ass if you call me superstar again."

"Ooi! Kakashi! You better not be dead!" A feminine voice calls, shortly afterwards the door to the room opens and admits a woman no older than twenty wearing a trench coat and a miniskirt and not much else, followed by a second woman no older than eighteen, dressed in full AnBu gear – over-the-shoulder ninjato and porcelain mask hung on hip included - with waist length blond hair poking up in every which direction and soft yet oddly vacant blue eyes. The first takes note of the trio, then Kakashi as Kiba, somewhat startled and thinking _'boobs'_ releases his hold and cracks the man's head against the floor, throwing both Sasuke and Sakura off balance.

"You his team?" The trench coat woman asks though sounding completely disinterested in any response they should produce. She doesn't wait for an answer. "Honestly, what are the odds. Nice shot, Naruto."

What must be Naruto lights up and nods in response.

"Alright, anyways. He alive?"

"… I think so." Kiba replies, looking over at Sakura for confirmation and the girl nods emphatically.

"How long he been out?"

"Like, ten seconds."

The woman cracks a grin. "Cool. He doesn't wake up in two minutes, take him to the hospital…" She pauses, Kiba assumes (boobs) that she is debating on whether or not to take the man herself, but she snaps out of her introspective look, 'dismissive' all over her face. "Carry on then." And she leaves. The second woman tilts her head at them for a moment and flounces out after her.

"… Dude… _Boobs_…"

[::Time past – around a week::]

"I need you out of the village for a while."

"What?" Anko replies, heavily emphasizing the 'wh' and somehow sounding both outraged and curious. Sarutobi glances up long enough to waggle his hand at her dismissively.

"You are not the problem here, Anko." He signs and stamps something and moves on to another form. "I have been putting off reporting Naruto's evaluations and the council is getting anxious. I want her_ nowhere near_ when I tell them."

"Oh…" Anko deflates, "You talkin' about the whole 'brainless' thing?" She faces Naruto for a moment and they share a meaningless glance and nod conspiratorially.

"Yes, the whole brainless… seal-less_… thing_." She can tell from the dull atmosphere in his newly-repaired office that he would very much like to sigh. "I'm sure you remember how well the meeting with Jiraiya went."

"He the guy that shit himself?"

"You _know_ who he is – _stop bringing that up_ – the point is, you and Naruto need to vanish for a while."

"Is this like a 'paid vacation' sort of deal?" She asks excitedly, "Because that hole in my wall gets pretty drafty at night… And we've been having some… _Owl_ problems…"

Sarutobi actually glances up, "Wild owls have been roosting in your apartment?"

"Oh- no, I mean… I mean AnBu Owl… " She frowns grumpily. "Bastard's been trying to steal Naruto's clothes."

Sarutobi doesn't even want to know. "I don't even want to know. And no, not a paid vacation. You will accompany Kakashi-"

"Don't pair me with goddamn _Kakashi_!" Anko interrupts him whiningly.

"Kakashi!" Naruto adds in the same tone. Anko pats her head without looking.

"This is not up for debate." Sarutobi growls in response and Anko folds her arms poutily. "You _will_ accompany Kakashi and his team on their assigned mission – escorting…" He consults a document he pulls from somewhere, "Tazuna, a… Bridge-builder, to his nearly-completed bridge in wave."

"What the _hell_?"

"The hell?" Anko pats her head.

"No. No 'the hell.'" Sarutobi replies, pointing a stern finger at both of them in turn, "You will be traveling - by foot – civilian pace."

"_What_? That'll take weeks!"

"Weeks!" Pat.

"_Quiet_. Go pack, you meet with Kakashi at the eastern gates in one hour. Dismissed."

"Oh this is _bullshit_!" Anko raves.

"Bullshit!" Fond hair ruffle.

"And stop teaching her to curse!"

"C'mon!" She begs (angrily), "Gimme' – _us_ - a – a – a food tasting mission! A hot-springs testing mission! A five-star hotel using mission!"

"My decision is final Anko. You will act as backup should it be needed. Dismissed."

"B-"

"_Dismissed_."

Anko draws back, inhaling to full capacity and fully prepared to chew and or spit his ass out. But then Sarutobi looks at her, grumpily, and she remembers that the man is her boss and fully capable of literally chewing and or spitting her ass out.

"This isn't over!" She vows, pointing a furious finger at his decidedly un-cowed face and storming out.

"Over!" Naruto pauses for a moment. "… Hi."

"Hello Naruto." He replies with a tired but genuine smile.

"_Naruto! Come be angry with me!"_

Naruto grins, turns and follows the voice.

[::Time passed – slightly less than around a week::]

"Okay, I'm pissed off." Kiba comments, pausing his tense pacing for a moment to ease himself back against the railing. Sakura, legs meshed through the railing and idly swishing over the stream running beneath them, chimes in "he's late" in an attempt to build unity, or something, but the sun was up in the clouds and the air was warm and the water was rustling beautifully and she was having a hard time staying annoyed. Sasuke, leaning against the bridge's opposite railing nods his concurrence and leaves it at that.

"Two hours late!" Kiba wrings out his hands tersely and goes back to pacing, cementing Sakura's impression that he was entirely too energetic for his own good. "Two goddamn hours!"

"… It's a nice day out at least." Sakura mutters softly, easing her forehead against the vertical wooden bars and staring down at the impossibly blue water.

Kiba waggles his fingers at her for a moment that she doesn't see. "Sure it's a nice day but I'm angry as _shit_! He doesn't get here soon I'm gonna- I'm gonna-" He opens and closes his mouth for a moment, fumbling for an action that sufficiently illustrated his anger though a few seconds later he comes up empty and settles for viciously throttling the air.

"Superstar!" He growls suddenly, turning on the boy, "Take over my angry rant for a sec, I need to cool down!"

Sasuke scowls at being called superstar, and as Kiba turns his back to him and flops down next to Sakura he picks up a thumbnail sized rock from the dirt road beside the bridge and tosses it up and down contemplatively.

"This actually isn't that bad." Kiba notes, taking a glance over at slightly dazed Sakura and timing his swishing feet to match her pace. He pulls back his hood and eases a sleeping Akamaru down next to him, the dog slowly rolling down the curved bridge as Kiba turns to face the water.

Kiba opens his mouth to say something half-thought of when Sakura lets out a startled shriek and wretches her feet back up, as she does the hand around her ankle releases and the body attached stands.

"Hey there kiddies." Kakashi greets airily from the water, tilting his head to avoid a thrown rock. Sakura's whole body still vibrates in surprise and she leaps back a bit, clutching her heart and half glaring half frowning at the man that appeared from under the bridge like some sort of one eyed bridge-goblin.

"Where have you been!"

"Why did you _do_ that?"

"Hn."

In response to the three sort-of questions Kakashi eases himself up and over the railing, plopping down feet-first on the bridge as his team stands before him.

"I got us a mission." He chirps, visible eye curving into what had quickly become recognized as his version of a smile.

All three of his team frown. "This another one of those lame 'paint the fence' ones?" Kiba asks while Sakura fumes silently.

"No." Kakashi returns, still smiling goofily. "I called in a favor and got us a C-class escort."

Sakura shocks out of her annoyance. "W-what?"

"Sweet!" Kiba pumps an arm in the air while Sasuke just nods and scowls slightly less. "When do we start?"

"Meet me at the eastern gates in two hours." Kakashi answers, "Pack for a month and a half of wilderness."

"W-we'll be gone for a month!" Sakura shrieks, almost swooning.

Kakashi holds out his hands soothingly. "No, no. Calm down. Oh- wait…" He tilts his head side to side for a moment. "Yeah, about a month."

She stumbles back against the opposite bannister, deathly pale. Kiba pumps his arm again and Sasuke stops scowling completely.

"Will you be training us?" Sasuke asks, noting in his head with no small bit of frustration that the man had yet to teach them a single thing.

Kakashi nods brightly… then blinks, shaking his head. "Oh- wait… I mean no. Well, maybe. You remember that conversation we had a while back?"

"You mean your 'I can't stand any of you' speech?" Kiba inquires absently, halfway through his victory dance.

"Yeah, that's the one. If you have any more questions, just refer to that, okay?" Kakashi, apparently satisfied with himself, nods and continues a moment later. "Pack enough to get you by for a month. It should take a week and a half both ways and we can restock in wave, but it pays to be prepared."

He almost walks away but pauses. "Remember, you'll be carrying your bag the entire way there, pack as light as you can. Only _necessities_." He looks long and hard in Sakura's general direction and continues in a better mood. "Alright, off you go now. And always remember, sensei hates you." He grins cheerfully and wanders off, only to turn on his heels mid-step and jab a finger at Kiba. "_Especially you_." He spins back and flounces off.

Kiba continues dancing, Sakura slides down the railing a bit and Sasuke just frowns as the man fades into the distance.

"I hate that man." Sasuke mutters and he starts back to the Uchiha complex to pack. Kiba spends another minute popping and locking and helps Sakura home.

[::Time past – two hours more than slightly less than around a week::]

"So you're the people escorting me back, huh?" Tazuna grouses, gesturing wildly with his bottle of sake, "You don' look like much." He leans in to inspect Sakura and the girl recoils back from his miasmous stench as if physically struck. "'Specially _you_."

Anko, still annoyed at being stuck with Kakashi and his team and a stinking drunk for a month in the wilderness, hurls a kunai ring first that pings off his head – inadvertently coming to the girl's rescue. "You ain't worth much, old man," She grouches, "She'll be plenty for whatever hunk'a shit comes after you."

Kiba chortles into his palm plenty loud for everyone to hear. Tazuna, as opposed to the drunken, maybe even sexist rebuttal Anko expected, clutches at his forehead pathetically and begins weeping.

"This is gonna' be just a load a fun, I can tell already." Anko eases her pack off her shoulders and tosses it against the towering village wall, the open gates twenty feet from their group. "And where the hell's Kakashi? He's usually not late for missions."

"Yo boobs. I mean Anko." Kakashi appears from nowhere, glaringly orange book in hand and pack over his shoulder, looking bored as usual.

"…Kakashi." Anko sighs and sags her shoulders, the weight of the situation finally setting in with his appearance. Sakura, essentially the only girl of the group, wanders over and pats Tazuna on the back awkwardly as the man breaks down into heaving sobs. Kakashi finally takes note of him and glances over at Anko expectantly.

"I don't even care." Anko says in complete honesty.

"… Me neither." He replies flatly, ignoring Tazuna's cry of _'she - she threw a t-thing at my he-he-heeeaaad!' _moves on to ask broadly,_"_ Everyone set?" In absence of negatives he continues, "Let's get going then."

**Chapter 4: **

_Sakura's first attempt at conversation:_ "So, are there any ninja in wave?"

"No." Kakashi replies after a lengthy bit of time, not even looking up from his book.

"… Oh…" Sakura grimaces.

_Sakura's second attempt at conversation_: "Why aren't there any ninja in wave?"

"Because wave is a shithole." Anko chimes grumpily, biting dango from a skewer as though the sweets were particularly tough bits of steak.

_Sakura's final attempt at conversation:_ "… wave is a shithole?"

"Don't ask stupid questions." Kakashi drolls over his book.

"Yeah, kid." She scowls over at the girl's obtrusively pink hair, "what are you, a parrot?"

"Yeah!" Anko ruffles Naruto's hair fondly. The girl beams and continues. "What's a parrot?"

"A parrot," Kakashi says the very moment Anko's mouth opens, "also known as a 'psittacine,' is a bird typically found in tropical regions with colorful plumage and a curved beak, some species of which have the ability to mimic human speech."

"What the _fuck_ Kakashi!" Anko blusters, tossing an arm over the enlightened girl's shoulders and pulling her close, "Naruto's mine!"

-0-

"I am seriously so bored right now." Anko complains, wringing out her hands in the air. "How long's it been so far?"

"Like, four hours." Kiba says, sounding equally as unsatisfied.

"This is all your fault." She crinkles her nose and shoots a glare over at suddenly-occupied-with-drinking from-a-long-empty-bottle Tazuna. "We'd be there in what, two days if you weren't moving so damn slow!"

Tazuna keeps drinking and not fooling anyone.

"Well? What have you got to say for yourself?"

"Stop harassing the client, Anko." Kakashi intervenes halfheartedly.

Tazuna trips over a moderately sized rock and drops his bottle from shock. "I'm old and drunk!" He snaps in response to her look, "What do you want from me?"

Anko grimaces. "I want you to move faster than you currently are. I can still see the goddamned village from here." She jabs behind her with an equally perturbed finger at the hint of an earthen colored wall in the distance.

"I'm movin' as fast as I can!" He slurs, staggering and suddenly twice as intoxicated.

She sighs. "Kakashi, can't you just carry him? It'd be better for everyone."

"… No."

She sighs again because she knows that she will not be touching the man either. "You could make your team carry him."

He seems to mull it over for a bit. "I don't think they're capable."

Kiba opens his mouth to object but Sakura whacks him over the back of his head.

"… Hey you… Uh – T something," She gestures at the bottle he dropped, around twenty feet back and not gaining distance very quickly. "Got any more?"

"You shouldn't drink on a mission, Anko." Kakashi chides.

"You're Copycat Kakashi and he's a turd." Anko declares, "What's gonna happen?"

Tazuna pulls a bottle from somewhere and regretfully hands it over, Anko eyes it skeptically. She then shrugs, pops the cork with her thumb and takes a swig.

"Augh!" She coughs, spluttering a mouthful down the back of Sakura's neck and setting the girl off shrieking something about spiders. She turns on the man angrily. "You trying to poison me you bridge-building bastard!"

"I'm poor!" He replies heatedly, "Poor and old and drunk! What do you want from me!"

"I want a bottle of goddamn _sake_! Not this little turdling!" She waves the bottle around furiously, "cough it up or this goes straight back up your ass!"

"That's all I've got!" He splutters, just as annoyed and nearing tears. "You don't like it - I'll take it back!"

"I've got some water…" Sakura adds hesitantly.

"Oh my _god_!" Anko explodes, turning to Kakashi lividly. "Kakashi! I fucking _hate_ your team!"

"What?" the girl squeaks, wide eyed.

"… Don't say any more, Anko…" He sniffs and turns his head away, continuing in a suspiciously thick voice. "_I know…_"

-0-

"I was excited at first but now…" Kiba trails off for a moment and sighs. "This is pretty dull."

Sakura, while in no way desiring what 'non dull' would entail and still unable to look either Anko or Kakashi in the eye, sighs as well. "Yeah… This is going to be a long week and a half…"

Kiba pats her on the back, and then himself on the back for being a good unity builder, and cranks his head over to check on a silently brooding Sasuke. "How 'bout you Superstar? How are you doing?"

Sasuke, already in a bad mood, grimaces over at Kiba and doesn't say much.

"That bad huh? You know what would cheer you up?"

Sasuke's grimace has little grimace children.

"My 'cheer up superstar the sun will come up tomorrow' dance!" Kiba then initiates said dance, falling into long, deep strides with a pelvic thrust every step, arms flailing about stupidly. Tazuna and Anko both squirt sake out their noses and spend the next minute choking and not crying. Sakura sniggers for a moment - but takes one look as the abomination that Sasuke's expression had become and plants a foot in Kiba's spine.

-0-

"Am I drunk or is it night allathesudden?" Anko slurs while still walking in a perfectly straight line. Kakashi blinks and the thought occurs to him that his book was in fact suddenly difficult to read. He glances up for a moment, noting the conspicuous lack of a sun in the sky. "Night, I'd guess."

"… Oh…" Anko stumbles harshly and is suddenly sitting on Naruto's shoulders. She grins and pats the head between her legs and notices from her peripheral vision the conspicuous lack of several key people. "Where's yer' team and that Tazubla-somethin' guy, Kakashi?"

"I can't believe you packed raw meat." Sakura comments, taking another bite from the skewer and scooting just a bit closer to the fire before her.

"I can't believe you _didn't_." Kiba replies simply, resting his back against a tree and warming his bare feet, Akamaru lazing about at his side. "You gotta think ahead, Sakura. Use that head a' yours."

Sakura frowns playfully and resists the urge to hurl her food at him.

"'Welcome for sharing by the way."

"Thanks kid." Tazuna says promptly, on his back and probably half-asleep.

"Thank you Kiba." Sakura indulges.

"Superstar? There's still some left if you want it." Kiba gestures to the skewer warming by the fire. Sasuke, back to the fire and not invested in the conversation one bit, replies:

"Don't want it."

"You sure?"

"Yes."

"…They'll be back, you know?" Kiba reassures, "can't go on without the client."

"We shouldn't have stopped." Sasuke mutters, the barest hint of frustration lacing his tone. "I could have gone on."

"You're not the only one here." Kiba replies. "We were tired, we stopped to rest and they ignored the shit out of us. Not our fault."

"_I _could have kept going."

Kiba realizes they are not the problem and turns to the fire, shifting his feet back as the soles start to burn. Sakura's eyes drift closed a bit and she glances over at Sasuke, hand reaching out but pulling back after a moment's hesitation. She turns back to the fire as well and Tazuna snores loudly.

-0-

"This is unfair!"

"Irrelevant. Keep walking."

"Why are we even doing this!" Sakura screeches, tripping over a rock and repositioning the two packs on her shoulders.

"Because you crapped out without saying anything." Anko growls from Naruto's shoulders. "That's insubordination, maybe even treason. Now keep walking."

"We did say something!" Kiba growls, shouldering two packs as well, "We yelled at you for like five minutes straight!"

"I would have heard something." Kakashi justifies dismissively.

"I threw my shoes at you!" Kiba shouts, "haven't you wondered why I'm _barefoot_ right now?"

"No."

Kiba splutters for a moment. "I can _see_ them! They're in your pocket! Proof!"

"I'm sure I would have noticed." Kakashi says, covertly glancing down for a moment and finally understanding why his hip-pouch was bulging so profoundly. He makes a mental note to stop indiscriminately pocketing everything that gets thrown at him. "And stop complaining so much, you're giving me a headache."

"You have a headache because I threw them at your _fucking_ _head_!"

"You – brooding kid, give annoying kid one of your packs."

"_What_?"

"Hn."

"You don't even know our _names_, do you!"

"Anko, can you shut him up?"

"Nah," she flaps her hand at him haughtily, "watching this is sorta' fun. Hey Tazubla, you got any more of that crap you call sake?"

Tazu_na_ frowns but rummages through his pack for a moment and tosses her a bottle. She pops the cork, downs half and doesn't thank him.

"Naruto, want a sip?" She offers, waggling the bottle in the girl's field of vision.

"Underage drinking." Kakashi chides.

"She doesn't have a brain, Kakashi." Anko replies, hopping down off the girl and tossing an arm over her shoulder, "What's gonna happen?"

"True."

Something occurs to Sakura. "…Naruto has no brain?" She asks, understandably hesitant.

"What did I tell you about stupid questions, Kiba." Kakashi frowns at her and shakes his head, disappointed.

"Kakashi, you have a freaking parrot genin."

Naruto blinks and raises an eyebrow, glancing over at the slightly taller woman. "I have no brain?"

Anko grins, giggles and rubs their cheeks together, face flushed. "Nope." Kakashi wanders over and gently knocks a fist on her head, making a hollow clicking noise with his tongue and nodding fondly, as if at that moment thinking '_you little rascal you' _while Sakura gapes.

"What the fruck!" She bellows, jabbing a righteous finger at them. "_Unfair_!"

"Brooding kid, give annoying girl your pack."

"Ohmygod I _hate _all of you!"

"You _suck_ sensei!"

"Hn."

-0-

"Naruto has no brain. And the dead-demon-consuming-seal is gone."

Sarutobi has never heard anything as quiet as his council in that moment. His eyes glaze over as he eases back into his seat, drifting off mentally as the council regains their wits. Danzo speaks first, though the Hokage is tired and completely out of it and as such the something that passes through the man's mouth flows in one ear and out the other.

"Rassumfrassum!" Danzo stands and hollers (while the civilian representative pales and slides from his seat) smashing his remaining fist on the table for emphasis. "Rassum - fassum - _rassumfrassum!_"

"Chimchiri chiri Pii!" Inoichi shouts, jabbing a finger at the one-eyed man and smashing _both _of his fists on the table in a clear show of dominance.

Shikaku steeples his fingers. "Mnenemen… Menumanu." He mutters as Tsume tenses in her seat, stands, and hurls her chair at a still shouting Danzo.

"Ramalama-ding-dong!" She growls as Danzo ducks and her seat sticks legs-first into the wall. Next she points over at Sarutobi. "Hokage blah blah blah shut the hell up!"

"… bugs…" Shibi Aburame mumbles. "… bugs?"

"Bugs." Sarutobi confirms dazedly and nods and everyone looks at him funny.

-0-

Anko wonders how the Hokage's council meeting is going. Then she remembers that she doesn't care and lifts Naruto onto her shoulders. The girl flounders and giggles and is generally bubbly. Kakashi pads along beside her, face buried in a glaringly orange covered book. His team trudges along behind them, sullen, downtrodden, two staggering along complaining with three packs and one with none taking up the rear, Tazuna is at Kakashi's side and showing a profound inversely proportional relationship between the amount of alcohol in his system and the amount of noise leaving it. Sasuke appreciates the silence. It helps his internal frustrations simmer.

"Oh shit." Says Anko suddenly, walking sideways to eye Kakashi from between Naruto's thighs. "I just realized something," She jaunts, "I can run ahead."

"No you can't." Kakashi takes a cold needle to her happiness, "Hokage told me you were emergency reinforcements."

"Oh bullshit." She retorts, "like you need me, anyways."

"Of course I need you, Anko. And you too, Naruto." Kakashi admits softly, "Otherwise the breasts-to-me ratio would be unacceptably low."

"I actually _felt_ that one coming." Anko grunts, "Besides, you _got_ a… well, you got a chick… I guess."

"Naruto alone is worth three Sarukas."

"… My name is Sakura."

"Yes, yes." Kakashi swishes his hand at her distractedly and continues flapping his jaw at steadily more and more annoyed Anko.

"I know you're Sakura." Kiba says, patting her shoulder. "And you _have_ breasts. They aren't as bombtastic as theirs, but in time… In time… You too, will become a beautiful breasterfly." He sniffs and wipes his eye and Sakura snorts before she can stop herself. Then she socks him in the arm.

"I don't even _care_." Anko assures Kakashi, "Screw you, I'm going ahead, gonna find that damn bridge or whatever, and an onsen, and some dango, and some other shit that I don't need but might want if it looks good when I see it!" She lifts Naruto from her shoulders, wraps her arms around the girl and grandly proclaims:

"Fly, Naruto!"

Naruto nods, expression determined. She rises to her toes, skin suddenly coated with a sheen of red smoke as one foot leaves the ground. Anko repositions herself, quickly tosses an arm over the girl's shoulder as the other foot leaves the ground as well. They hover for a moment, Anko's heart quickening with anticipation. The moment of idleness passes, they rise up above the tree-line, whirling in a gentle spin before leveling out. Then they drift forwards, building speed and humming into the distance though even then Kakashi can still hear Anko cackling.

"… Well." Kiba says. "_That_ happened."

-0-

"This is so awesome!" Anko bellows to the wind, sprawled out over Naruto's back and arms around her neck, holding on for dear life as they rocket forwards at speeds perfectly unattainable by herself. If there ever was a thing called 'exhilaration' Anko feels it now, glancing down at the treetops speeding below them as tingles like high-voltage electricity shock in from her fingers, shouts bubble up in her throat and heart pounds in her chest. Naruto's arms bend backwards and her fingers mesh over Anko's lower back though Anko doesn't feel it one bit.

She muses, as Naruto hurls into a barrel-roll, that the only thing that could improve her experience would be _nothing._ Anko also muses as they level out once again, that the air is cold but Naruto is warm. The air in the distance is heavy with mist, and they enter the cloud not a minute later and vision cuts out.

Anko assumes that Naruto remembers where they are going and as such doesn't open her mouth. A few minutes pass, her heart slowing down as she becomes accustomed.

Anko understands the concept of 'sudden' very well. The callouses on her fingers speak louder than she ever could. Her taijutsu may depend on speed but her old sensei vanished faster than her hands have ever moved – she was surprised. And she remembers intimately the adrenaline holding ice to her spine – but as a structure extending both above and below her field of vision casually appears twenty feet from her it is an entirely unfamiliar jolt that shocks her system.

Naruto did not know where she was going, Anko finds shortly, she also finds that Naruto's head is made of tougher things than reinforced concrete. 'Reinforced concrete?' Naruto's head chortles, 'Pheh, more like reinforced _shmonfrete_.'

Anko fears for her life but they speed on, and she will remember for years to come the feeling of being attached to a human-cannonball as it bludgeons through a support beam much, much wider than she is tall. They don't slow, and a groan deeper and louder than anything Anko has ever heard echoes past the clouds. Rock crumbles and metal peels and they spit out the other side, unscathed and still flying as the outermost portion of wave's colossal bridge twists sideways uneasily.

Naruto glides down to the edge of the island and plops on a dock just as a bone-breaking _crack_ fills the air. And then rumbling, vibrating deep and rattling Anko's heart around in her ribcage. The woman detaches herself dazedly and glances out at the ocean, the mist growing dark and her eyes growing wide.

Just as the bridge was sudden so is the wave, towering over her, above the trees and slicing across the ocean like a massive scythe. A fisherman, formerly preoccupied with staring at them, scampers back in shock but Anko doesn't. She remembers in that moment every jutsu she knows and knows that none of them will do her any good.

… And then she remembers something else. "Naruto!" She shouts, trying her best to keep her tone level but she shouts anyways, "Shoot that fucking wave in the face!"

Naruto glances over at her, the wave closing in the blink of an eye, cresting over their heads – and in that instant, Naruto nods. She holds out a palm. If the wave is fast then Naruto is faster, vibrant red electricity warbles in her hand, flickering over a marble of black that soon forms in the center.

Anko, slightly behind Naruto, can now reach out and touch the water, the murky-blue wave stretching up over her head and down behind her:

A pellet of energy screams through the water, the liquid pulling back an inordinate amount relative to its size – pulling back enough for the wave to glide over and past them on either side in a cylinder of empty space and not graze them. Anko could reach out and touch both sides of the hole.

A second smaller wave is upon them, and Naruto blasts a hole through it too, then the third one, then she turns and shoots the water closing from behind. She shoots again and again, in every direction at every bit of water capable of catching them until Anko and Naruto stand on an islanded piece of dock surrounded violently rippling water and downed trees.

"…I gotta say." Anko rasps after a long moment of silence. "Whole… bridge destruction and flood aside, that was pretty legit_…_ Hey, look, it's the fisherman – ah… wait… he's dead."

-0-

Kakashi stops walking and glances down at the perfectly blue puddle, lying on the side of the road, casual like, as if saying, 'yeah, I'm a puddle, what of it?'

His team and Tazuna stop as well, vaguely confused as to why their sensei / only competent escort had stopped to gander at a shallow pool of water.

"… Hey, Kiba." Kakashi says, gesturing him closer with a hand but not turning his back to the water. "You see that puddle there?"

"Uh… Yeah?" Akamaru tilts his head as well.

"Why don't you go… splash in it."

"… What?"

"Go on." Kakashi says, eyes still trained on the innocent puddle. "Splash in it."

"… Why?"

"Oh, just because."

"… I uh… " Kiba frowns and steps back. "Don't wanna."

"Sarubla? Up for some splashing?"

"Don't do it! It's a trap!"

"Oh nonsense," Kakashi chides in his poppycock tone, "just some good _fun's_ what it is."

Sakura blinks and grimaces. "I'm not doing that – and it's _Sakura_."

"Whatever. Sas… Uh – third teamlet, up for some fun in the sun?"

Sasuke only glares balefully over at him.

"… Oh my god," Kakashi sighs, "I hate you guys so much – Tazura, you up for some perfectly harmless splashing? Guarantee you'll feel like you're ninety-eight again."

"I'm old and drunk!" Tazu_na_ cries in what had quickly become his default response to any and all questions, no matter how harmless, "What do you want from me!"

Kakashi heaves a second great sigh. "I'm sorry puddle, for my awful team especially Kiba. And also for Tazubla who's a gross old drunk and also stinky."

"I'm old and drunk! What do you want from me!"

Suddenly the air fills with shrieks, hundreds of piercing sounds like a mass flock of calling birds. Kakashi is no longer standing idle, and in a flash of piercing white and a rolling hiss there are two cloaked and masked and gauntleted assailants, smoking and unconscious on the ground.

"What just happened?" Kiba asks.

"Oh nothing." Kakashi replies forlornly, brushing off his hand on his pants while Sasuke scowls and Sakura blinks, "just a couple of missing-nin waiting in ambush…" He crouches down and rifles through their probably-corpses, pulling back a minute later with a photograph of Tazuna in his hand.

"Alright then." Kakashi says, facing the suddenly very sweaty man, "it's _splainin' time_."

-0-

"Stop squirming, Naruto." Anko grouches, resorting to holding the girl down with one hand while the other furiously scrubs at her back. Naruto giggles and flails her arms and legs, flopping off the bath stool in the process. Anko sighs and straddles the girl's hips.

"It tickles!" Naruto complains.

"I'll bet." Anko replies, "But apparently, you are a literal dirt magnet. Now hold still." She pulls the scrub back, holds it under the nearby showerhead and coaxes off another layer of dirt with her fingers. She then pulls yet another twig from Naruto's hair and tosses it into a nearby pile that included other twigs, leaves and of all things a left shoe.

-0-

"Where's my left shoe you shoe-hoarding bastard!"

Kakashi shrugs indifferently while Kiba cringes and pulls yet another sharp rock from his sole.

-0-

Anko eases back in to the steaming water with a long-pent sigh, tensions and worries like 'we just killed a bridge and a bunch of fish-mongers' flying out with the air, and as she dunks her head under the water and pulls up, she forgets entirely. She slicks back her hair and blinks away the few clinging droplets to glance over at an uncertain Naruto.

Anko slides back and curls her legs, gesturing to the empty space across from her. Naruto beams and walks the three feet to her, only to slip on the first step and crack her head against the plaster bath – splitting it down the middle and leaking water everywhere while Anko squawks indignantly.

-0-

Tazuna wields a photo of his grandson like a weapon, "My grandson Inari will starve. Left alone on the streets, alone, alone and afraid." He mourns is his best sad old man voice while trying his damndest to spontaneously weep, but he tries too hard and ends up just reddening his face and looking constipated. "Would you curse my adorable little grandson to live alone on the streets? Alone? Alone and afraid? Al-"

"Alone and afraid, we get it." Kiba snaps.

"I'm old and drunk - what do you want from me! – I – I mean," He switches back to sad old man voice and flips the picture of his grandson, a picture of his daughter on the back, "and my beautiful daughter Tsunami, forced to do naughty things to pay for food. Alone an-"

"Shut the fuck up old man, we're thinking!"

"Now, now, Kiba," Kakashi chides for a moment, ignoring Tazuna's cry of _"I'm old and drunk, what do you want from me!"_ he turns back to the picture with an odd look on his face. "I'd like tooooo… _meet_, this daughter of yours."

[Time passed: a week]

"So… Where's the bridge, old man." Kiba grouches, "Was that a lie too?"

"Kiba…" Sakura admonishes softly but the way she peers into the thickening mist shows that she is curious as well.

"You'll see." Tazuna preens haughtily, "You'll see."

"It's misty as shit you _tard_, what're we gonna see?" Sakura frowns at him but doesn't comment.

"Keep it down," The man at the rear of the boat pleas, "mist carries sound."

"This puny mist is no match for my super bridge." Tazuna declares, "You'll know when you see it."

And indeed soon the bridge does come in to view, and after a few moments of awkward silence the bridge builder realizes that his bridge is a lot _shorter_ than he remembers. The sound that leaves his lips is not a human noise – it is abrupt, piercing and high, less a cry of grief and more the screech of a fatally wounded pterodactyl. He continues to shriek and flail about - Kakashi and team covering their ears and wondering how on earth a man could produce such a noise - until the man at the rear thwacks him over the head with his oar.

-0-

The most peculiar swishing noise fills the air, gradually gaining pace from _swoosh… swoosh… swoosh _to _swishswishswish _and then suddenly, …_thunk._

Kakashi stops abruptly, finding his right leg unable to move. He furrows his eyebrows, lowers his book and gazes down at the offending leg, noting the massive sword (taller than him, half a foot-wide blade with a circular notch near the tip, the other half a bandaged handle) piercing handle-first straight through his thigh pocket and stabbing into the dirt. His mouth opens and closes.

"How did that get there?" He mutters, genuinely confused.

"…You uh… caught it." Kiba replies dazedly, "caught it and pocketed it… without even lookin'… I… _I love you_. "

Up ahead a man drops down from the tree's canopy, straight to the dirt and stumbling off balance for about a second before he spins on his heels and peers over at them.

"Wha -where the fuck is my _sword_!" The man grouches, craning his head about furiously and finally settling on Kakashi - the man, apparently bored with the situation, reading his book once again.

"Oi! You _stole_ _my sword_!" He bellows, jabbing a finger at them, drawing Kiba's attention to his black-and-grey arm warmers.

Kakashi glances up from his glaringly orange book and frowns right back at him. "Your _sword_ ruined my _hip-pouch_."

"How is that even _relevant_!" He bellows in return, "Who goes around shoving fucking _swords_ in their pockets! Give her here or I'm cramming my boot straight up your ass!"

"Look," Kakashi returns, palms out passively, "If you don't want people stealing your stuff you probably shouldn't be tossing it around so carelessly." Tazuna and Kakashi's team notice a second Kakashi sneaking up behind the fuming man and try their best to not react.

"T-toss!" He blusters, and Kakashi's entire team imagines that were it not for the bandages around his face he would by spraying as well. "Toss? I – I!" His face flushes in anger and he seems entirely at a loss for words.

Kakashi's double crouches down behind the raging man, hands together with both index and middle fingers extended.

Three needles jab into the man's neck and his eyes glaze over; from the trees a small form, dressed in formal kimono and a porcelain mask drops down and –

"Ten-thousand-years-of-_pain_!"

The second Kakashi rockets his hands forward just as the man begins to keel over, launching him into a floppy, graceless arc that end with him crunching face first into the dirt and sliding bonelessly for ten more feet.

Second Kakashi flashes First Kakashi a salute and vanishes in a plume of smoke. Kiba glances around, wide eyed and promptly starts cackling.

"… Thank you for dis- urk…" A decidedly feminine emanates from the mask, "…for dis – for distr – mnnn… " They take a deep breath and continue shakily. "Thank you f – for dis_tract_ing him – f – for me… I've been on his _taaail _for some time now."

Kiba falls to his knees, completely red-faced and begins choking and smashing his fist on the dirt. Kakashi tilts his head at the (he assumes) girl. "You a hunter-nin?" He wonders aloud.

They nod vivaciously. "Yes. If you'll excuse me…" They start towards the body.

Kakashi pulls the sword from his pocket tosses it, it jabs into the dirt near them and they sling it over a shoulder. "You going to dispose of the body?" He asks casually.

"Yes." They reply calmly, and reach towards the corpse.

"You mind if the kidlings watch?"

They stop. "… What?"

"Well, they've been getting on my nerves." He admits, gesturing to Kiba, who is now on all fours and gurgling, red down to the collarbone as gravity pulls and Akamaru plops down out of his hood. "I figure desecrating a corpse will shut them up for a bit."

"Sorry ninja-san." They amend softly, "that's against policy."

"Ah." He nods, "Would you be willing to dispose of Kiba, at least?"

"… Um… No."

"You sure?" Kakashi goads, "there's a hole in my pocket… who _knows_ what might fall out…" He trails off meaningfully.

The girl raises a brow behind her mask. "No, thank you."

He heaves a burdened sigh. "Well, good day, then." And starts ahead carelessly, nose in his book. Kiba crawls after him for a bit but finally faints and Sakura helps him up. She makes it two steps before she collapses under the combined weight of her two packs and Kiba and his two packs, and Sasuke ignores them.

"… " The hunter-nin grabs the body and vanishes into a shunshin and Kakashi starts humming a jaunty little tune.

-0-

"Breakfast!" A voice calls. Anko snorts awake and scratches her head, making to sit up but stopping at the familiar weight on her chest.

She grins sleepily and rubs the girl's back. "Naruto, wake up… Food's on."

Naruto burrows her face into Anko's neck and the woman laughs chokingly and flails her arms as velvet blond hair tickles her skin. "C'mon, Naruto. Up."

-0-

"… Why do you hate us, sensei?"

"Oh, Kiba… Kiba, Kiba, Kiba…" Kakashi shakes his head, clucks his tongue and sighs. "Kiba… Kiba Kiba Kiba…"

-0-

"Breakfast!" Tsunami calls again, and at no response she pads into the living room and finds Anko and Naruto curled up on her couch sleeping.

-0-

"Kiba… Kiba Kiba Kiba…" Kakashi sighs again and shakes his head, "Kiba, Kiba, Kiba… "

-0-

"Breakfast." Tsunami prods Anko, but the woman's head only lulls off to the side in response. She furrows her brow. "Breakfast!"

-0-

"Oh, poor, poor Kiba… Kira – Kira?... _Kiba_…" Kakashi sighs. "Kiba Kiba Kiba-"

"Just – stop! If you aren't gonna tell me then just _shut up_!"

"If I stop then you won't _learn_ anything." Kakashi scowls over at them, but his frown turns soon regretful and he looks away, shaking his head mournfully. "Oh Kiba…" He clucks his tongue shamefully, "Kiba Kiba Kiba… "

-0-

"Breakfast!" Tsunami pinches Anko's cheeks and the woman blink awake.

"…I 'all 'areep 'a'ain?"

Tsunami nods, releases her and stalks off to the kitchen.

Anko glances down and smiles as Naruto unconsciously nuzzles into her neck. She presses a hand to her cheek and curls an arm over her back. "Food's up, Naruto."

"… _Food's up_, Naruto."

-0-

"Poor, stupid Kiba…"

-0-

"Food's _up_ Naruto!"

-0-

"Stupid, _stupid_ Kiba… "

-0-

"Why did you do that!" Zabuza gruffly roars the very moment Haku pulls the needles from his neck. He makes to sit up but she holds him down as best she can. "_Why_ did you _do_ that!"

"I'm _sorry_!" Haku hurriedly justifies over his rage, "I thought he was going to hurt you – you didn't _see_ him! He was _behind_ you and I-"

"Whydidyo_udothaaaat_!"

-0-

"Wake! Uuuuup!"

-0-

"Poor, poor Kiba!" Kakashi screams to the skies, falling to his knees and weeping pathetically. "Poor! Stupid! _Kibaaaa_!"

-0-

"Nn… Hm?" Naruto blinks up at her, blue eyes peering through dark lashes and Anko _immediately_ hugs her.

"Food's up, Naruto." She says as she rubs her cheek against Naruto's sleep-tousled hair.

-0-

"POOR!... POOR!... **KIBAAAAA**-"

-0-

"HE POKED ME IN THE **ASS**, HAKU!"

-0-

Tsunami giggles into her palm as Naruto drops her fork for the third time. Anko smiles at her fondly and hands hers over.

-0-

"-**AAAAAAAAAA**-"

-0-

"IN THE **_ASS_****, **HAKU!"

-0-

Anko leans in close to Naruto's ear and mumbles something.

"Thank you for the food, Tsunami." The girl says quietly. Tsunami claps her own cheeks and tries not to hug the girl.

-0-

-0-

"**-AAAAAAAA**I'm done." Kakashi rises to his feet and continues on walking as though he had never stopped; his team and Tazuna obediently follow after him.

"… My name's _Sakura_, by the way."

Kakashi tilts his head back and sighs, sagging his shoulders forlornly. "Oh… Sakura… " He mourns, stashing his book once again. "Sakura, Sakura, Sakura…"

"God _damnit_ Sakura!" the actual Kiba growls at her.

"Quiet Sasuke!" Kakashi snaps at him, "This is Sakura's lesson now!… Oh Sakura… Sakura, Sakura, Sakura… Poor, poor Sakura…"

-0-

Zabuza quiets down. He now breathes like a racehorse, eyes wide and bloodshot.

"Better?" Haku asks, hands on her hips.

"… Better."

-0-

"Ngggg... Sakura…" Kakashi snores, "Zzzzakura… mmpoor… sa…"

-0-

"… So," Haku starts uncertainly, "… How is it?"

Zabuza grimaces. "… It stings." He tenses and slowly looks at her, eyebrow quirked.

"… No." She declares firmly and he just keeps looking at her. "I am _not_ rubbing ointment on it!"

-0-

"My house is up ahead."

"Oh thank god!" Sakura and Kiba explode, running ahead and desperately pounding on the door.

"Yo' Kakashi." Anko greets airily from the couch, paying no mind as the girl of his team sprints past her in tears. "Have a good trip?"

Kakashi plods in and rests hers and Naruto's packs by the couch, plopping down next to her with little aplomb. "Not bad."

"I miss anything good?" She asks though sounding completely disinterested.

"Got the Demon of the Mist with ten-thousand-years-of-pain."

Anko frowns and her mouth opens and closes. "Wait - that the uh – the ass poke one?"

He nods sagely and she snickers for a moment.

"You kill him?"

"No." Kakashi replies shortly, reclining back with a sigh and pulling his book from his repaired thigh-pouch. "Some fake hunter-nin ran off with him."

"Cool…" Anko nods and sips her glass of something sour. "Cool…"

"…I could really use a drink."

She wordlessly hands him her glass and he downs it.

"Anything happen with you?" He asks, resting the empty glass on the coffee table at their feet.

Anko mulls it over. "… Well, we flew here… And we uh…" She grimaces and continues softly, "We sort of _hit_ the bridge-"

"Ah. I saw that."

"-Yeah. Uh… I really don't need the old guy finding out about this… Don't tell anyone?"

"Sure. Sure." He agrees amiably.

"So, now what?" Anko asks after a long moment of 'no one cares to speak' silence. Naruto enters from the dining room and plops down next to her.

"Hm?" Kakashi grunts.

"What do we do now?" Anko reiterates, "Aren't we like, done?"

"I sorta promised I'd keep Taruza safe until he finishes the bridge." He admits regretfully. "But you're free to leave if you want."

"Naruto!" Tsunami's voice calls from the kitchen, "Help me with lunch?"

The girl glances over, and as Anko smiles and flicks her head she stands and flounces to the kitchen. "Why would you promise something stupid like that, Kakashi? – and his name's Tazuna."

"I…" he blinks and tilts his head. "…I can't remember."

**Chapter 5: **

"That giant sword guy is still alive." Kakashi says conversationally, the first words from his mouth since they'd left the house and entered the forest. "And you all suck something terrible, so… I'm gonna' have to teach you something… I guess…"

"… Ah." Kiba says, pointedly ignoring the maniacal expression on Sasuke's face. "I wondered why we were out here."

Kakashi nods and considers for a few moments what he could teach them that would require the least amount of effort on his part, and yet leave them with a sense of accomplishment enough to not harass him for a few days. He immediately rules out a jutsu, and anything involving the suffix 'jutsu.'

The man thinks for a few more moments while his team squirms for varying reasons, and wakes from his apparent daze with a sudden enlightened snap of his fingers, brightly proclaiming: "I'll be teaching you how to climb trees."

"What." Sakura growls.

"…" Sasuke grimaces.

"The _fuck_!" Kiba shouts, jabbing a finger at the unimpressed man, "you got me all worked up over goddamn _trees_!"

"See, that attitude, right there," Kakashi replies absently, "that's why no one likes you." He looks up from his book to eye the boy with a noticeably repulsed expression. "Ugh… Just… _Anyways_, you won't be climbing them with your hands… your filthy… filthy hands…" He lurches just a bit, covers his mouth, then turns to Sakura as he continues, "you will only use your feet."

"Oh - cool." Kiba interrupts, "Let me just go get my tree boots and we can _start_ this bitch."

"Quiet Sasuke." Kakashi chides halfheartedly, and pulls three kunai from his thigh holster, his intent is to throw them nonchalantly and have them land at his team's feet – or in his team's feet – in quick succession. But he is barely paying attention and his three kunai slip from his fingers and clink to the ground at his own feet lamely.

"Use these kunai to mark your progress," He instructs loftily, "first person to the top of a tree will receive a moderately valuable prize."

His team blinks.

"…Well, hop to it." He goads with a noticeable lack of enthusiasm. His team walks over to him, picks up their respective kunai, and each turns to face a different tree contemplatively.

"What do we do, sensei?" Sakura finally asks.

"… Oh, right." Kakashi notices, "Well, you run really, really fast – and then go up the tree."

"I call bullshit." Kiba intrudes.

"_But_." Kakashi continues at the rude interruption, somewhat irked and in a conspiratorial voice, "you have to _believe_ you can do it."

"… Could we get a demonstration?" Sakura asks hesitantly, hands fidgeting together while Kiba snorts at the mental image of the man sprinting headlong into a fullgrown tree.

Kakashi, though in no mood to run anywhere, ever, sees the potential of the situation he has created out of spite. He mulls it over for a few moments and replies. "I don't see why not."

Then the man runs towards the nearest three and straight up it, all the way up to the canopy where he rests on a branch and ganders down at his baffled team.

Kiba, eyes wide, makes a strangled noise and with no warning sprints towards his own tree. He leaps up, plants one foot on the bark and makes it two steps before he falls straight on his back with a thump that makes Sakura wince.

"Believe harder!" Kakashi crows down from the treetop.

-0-

"… How are you doing, Zabuza?" Haku asks hesitantly, slightly perturbed at the manic expression on his face. The man turns his head and somehow bares his sharklike teeth even more.

"Better." He rasps from his bed in a manner clearly indicating the opposite.

"… Good." She replies, and tosses him an apple she had purchased from the floundering market nearby, "I got you an apple."

Zabuza catches it and eyes it eerily, promptly clenching his fist and reducing the fruit to a pulpy froth of a mess. "My strength is almost back." He confirms, bloodshot eyes stretching wide and nostrils flaring, expression such that the fruit could have been replaced with a still-beating heart and not looked out of place.

"Did you just crush my apple?"

-0-

"Alright, stop, stop." Kakashi calls from his tree, and hops down while his bruised and out-of-breath team shambles before him. "I was gonna' let you keep up, but… well, Sasu… Sa… Saru… Name?"

"Sakura."

"Sure. You pretty much almost died, there. So… " Kakashi grimaces at the thought of the shit that would rain down on him had his teamlet been impaled while in his care. "So yeah, you just – just shouldn't be _handling kunai_… at all… In fact, no kunai for any of you, hand them over."

"What?"

"No questions, all stabbing implements, in my hands, _now_." He waggles his fingers expectantly and his team regretfully hands over their respective pouches. Kakashi considers them for a bit before tossing them over his shoulder and continuing. "I lied. Believing is not enough to traverse the humble tree."

"Fucking _knew_ it!"

"You lying son of a bitch!"

"Hn."

"Yes, yes, charming. You must _also_ channel chakra through the soles of your feet, and it - sticks to the tree, or something… Too much or too little chakra and somewhere a kitten _dies_." He frowns and gestures vaguely with his hands.

"What the _hell_ are you talking about."

"Quiet Sasuke." Kakashi shushes Kiba distractedly, "the moderately valuable prize remains for the first to the top of their tree. Now hop to it... Go on… Shoo."

"I call bullshit."

"_Shoo_."

"Hey, this isn't that hard." Sakura calls down from a nearby treetop. Kiba gapes, Sasuke grimaces and Kakashi sighs because now he needs to find a prize.

"Good work, Sa… Saaaaku… ra? Sakura. Good work, Sakura. You get the priiiizzzzzeeeee – your kunai." He finishes lamely, and wanders back to retrieve a pouch and hurl the thing up at her. "Now run up and down for a while." She grimaces and starts off at it while Kiba and Sasuke just glower over at him. Kakashi can only ignore their glares for a few minutes, he is only human.

"The second person up the tree will get a slightly less moderately valuable prize." He tempts in a lame attempt to foster a competition.

-0-

"Why did you crush my apple!"

"Ah, apples," Zabuza muses indifferently, "the perfect index for human flesh."

"You're not getting out of this!" She fumes and stomps her foot, "that was the only apple that wasn't rotten, and you go and - and _crush_ it! Why did you crush my apple?"

"Apples killed my father," He mutters darkly, "and raped my mother."

"You are going to answer my question!" Haku jabs a finger in his chest and picks up the apple-corpse from the wooden floor. "And you're _eating_ this!"

"I'm not eating that." Zabuza states flatly, "not happening."

"Then tell me _why_ you crushed it!"

"Oh – I don't know," the man shrugs about with his hands, which was coincidentally the peak amount of motion he was capable of, "boredom? Impulse? Anger problems? I can't feel my junk here, cut me a break."

Haku flushes red and inflates her chest. "Fine." She huffs, "I just won't buy you food anymore."

"What!" He squawks as loud as he can manage, "I was _serious_! It's not like I go around crushin' fruit indiscriminately or anything! It was a one-time deal, I swear!"

"I wish I could believe you," Haku replies forlornly, "you and your - your non-fruit-crushing _fantasies_…" she sighs out and glances down at the apple-corpse with half lidded eyes, "But I've seen too much… Now - if you'll excuse me… I need to dig this a grave."

"_What_?"

Haku shuffles out forlornly and he roars after her "Wait Haku! What if Gato comes back - and – and tries to touch my _face_ again! Who will save me, Haku!"

"No one tried to molest you, Zabuza! You were just dreaming!" Haku calls back, and closes the shack's door behind her.

"I! Wasn't! _Dreaming_!" Zabuza screeches, then curls into a banana-shaped ball and weeps.

-0-

"Alright." Kakashi calls, resting his back against a tree, an air of serenity around him. "Kiba, you get the prize… Your kunai." Kakashi hurls the kid's pouch at him and turns to the remaining member. "Sasuke, you get the consolation prize."

"Oh boy." Kiba cheers bitterly, not even bothering to correct the switched name, "My kunai?"

Kakashi scowls. "My _disappointment_. Oh wait, you already have that." Kiba sags his head in shame and Kakashi continues sourly. "You see? You see how that feels? Take your kunai, you rude little child." He pings the pouch off of Kiba's head and turns to his less disappointing team members. "You two, return to Taruza's house. Sakura, wash the vomit out of your hair. Kiba, wake Sakura up and help her walk."

He turns back to Kiba and sighs as his eyes fall on the boy. "I'm gonna' go. Keep at it Sasuke. You can have dinner when you can walk to the very top and back."

"I'm barely halfway up." Kiba complains, but keeps his head level enough to not raise his voice, "What happens if I'm still out here an' the sun comes down? Or if I'm too tired to find my way back?"

"Then you get eaten by wolves." Kakashi says, immediately continuing before Kiba can interject. "Also Akamaru gets eaten by wolves, slightly sadder." Kiba stares at him blankly, slightly annoyed that the man remembered his dog's name and not his. "The moral of the story, in case you were wondering? Be better than you currently are. Now hop to it."

Kiba heaves a great sigh. "I hate you so much."

Kakashi scowls. "Literally. hop to your tree. Right now."

-0-

"Yo Anko." Kakashi eases through the doorway and waves a hand at her, ignoring his two palest genin stumbling in after him.

"Yo Kakashi." Anko replies with the same amount of enthusiasm. He pads over and flops down on the couch beside her. "How was yer' day an' shit." She asks and doesn't look in his direction, raising the bottle in her hand to take a lazy sip.

He doesn't look at her either. "Disappointing." He says as he sinks back into the cushioning. "You?"

Anko quirks a satisfied corner of her lips. "Not bad. Me an' Naruto fixed the bath. Found the guy's stash. Got drunk in the bath…" She takes a deep breath and flops her head back. "Pretty relaxing, honestly. Almost don' wanna' go back." Naruto flounces into the room from the kitchen, plops down next to Anko and hands her another bottle. She tosses an arm over the girl's shoulders, hands her half-empty to Kakashi and pops the new cork with her thumb.

Kakashi tosses it back and rests the bottle down on the coffee table. "How's the bridge coming?" He wonders aloud.

"Dunno." She mutters, "Old guy's been all sulky n' shit. I'd ask but…"

"Yeah." Kakashi admits, "I don't really care either, to be honest." He pulls the book he'd been reading for the past couple of days from his vest and promptly returns it to the pocket when he realizes that he knows word-for-word what happens. "What's there to do, anyways."

"Get drunk." Anko says, and rests her head on Naruto's shoulders. "Get drunk an' – an' eat… I guess. That's why I'm drinkin'."

"Careful you don't turn into a lush." He warns indifferently, then tilts his head. "Unless you're handsy and there's another woman involved. Then do turn into a lush."

Anko snorts. "Classic Kakashi."

"You're all going to die." What can only be Inari warns as the child emerges from underneath the coffee table. Anko tenses and almost pulls a kunai but for the fact that the kid had been pulling the same stunt all day.

Anko smacks the kid upside the head. "I almost stabbed you in the fucking face. _Again_. Leave."

Inari clutches at his barely bruised cheek and storms out of the room, Anko sighs as he turns the corner. "Kid's been pulling that shit all day. Showed up in the bath while we were in it - I swear he popped up outa the goddamned drain. Scared the crap outa me, killed the mood – it was horrible. Hell, he just killed my buzz just _now_."

"I know what you mean." Kakashi agrees, "Woke up last night and he was standing over me, muttering."

Anko glances over at him. "That's legitimately creepy."

"Well, he _said_ he just wanted to know how my hair stands up." Kakashi clarifies and preens his gravity-defying hair a few times, "Could have been more tactful about it, but… Still, not a pleasant way to wake up." He sighs and continues preening absently. "Wait that's not right – the pink one was standing over me, and she was holding a cleaver…" He frowns. "I might have been dreaming, now that I think about it… Is she eight feet tall?"

"Your stories are stupid." Anko says, and rests her half-asleep head back down in the crook of half-asleep Naruto's neck. "Next time I ask you something remind me that I hate you."

"Sure." He agrees amiably. "There any food?"

"Fish… An' rice… An' like… Carrots… Roughage an' shit. Not bad, really. Ask Tsu-something if you want any."

-0-

Dinner is a dull affair, the cloud of silence only broken by the occasional clink of a fork or knife or unpleasant conversation. "So, father." Tsunami inquires, the man turning to her, slack faced; "How is the bridge coming along?"

"Ah." He mutters and rests his utensils down on his plate, "Well… We got most of the bridge out of the ocean with the crane, reattached it best we could… Filled the cracks with concrete… Not as structurally sound as I'd like, but we're back on schedule…" He grimaces perturbedly, "Lost a few workers, should finish in a week or two if we rush."

"That's… wonderful." Tsunami notes with a very strained smile, and turns to the other people at the table. "Isn't that wonderful?"

"That's wonderful." Kakashi agrees. Another piece of his meal vanishes.

"Wonderful." Naruto chimes.

"It's good enough I guess." Anko says blandly, resting her head on her palm and toying around with the last of her fish idly. "Could be better, but can't complain."

"It's uh… Super?" Sakura lies after a moment's hesitation.

"Hn."

Tsunami's expectant gaze finally settles on an empty chair. "Where is the… dog… boy?"

-0-

"You wanna throw down you wolf bastards? Fucking _bring it_!"

-0-

"I don't care." Kakashi replies flatly.

Anko nods. "He's like, my least favorite of your team… Well, not least _favorite_… I like him the least, is what I mean-"

"Shut up I totally get it." Kakashi says. Sasuke just keeps eating and Sakura, still a little green, doesn't have the energy to complain.

"But…" Tsunami flounders for the words, "It's dark out… Animals…"

"I'm sure he's fine." Kakashi assures her diffidently, "Don't waste your concern on him."

"But…"

"Trust me, get to know him and you'd understand."

"You're all going to die."

"Eat your vegetables, Inari."

-0-

"Huh." Kakashi says as his eyes wander over the scene before him, skipping quickly over the horribly maimed wolf and blood spatters to the prone form of his least favorite student. "What happened here?"

Sakura begins to hyperventilate and passes out. Sasuke also begins to hyperventilate though for slightly different reasons, and he also passes out. Kakashi wanders over and prods at the maybe-corpse with his foot until Kiba spasms awake and squints at the sun overhead.

"You're alive." Kakashi notes while sounding neither concerned nor guilty. "…_Yay_."

"Nn… Sensei?" Kiba groans, flops onto his back and peers up at the man. "I… What… What's this taste funny… Urk." His eyes go wide. "I killed a fucking _wolf_."

"Way to state the obvious, Sasuke."

"No, no, you don't understand." Kiba continues, and sits up while clutching at his head. "One of them bit me and I – I bit it back. In the fucking. _Face_."

"Look, Kiba. If you don't have anything new to say then just don't talk, alright?"

"Are you not hearing me?" He asks and wobbles to his feet, "I _bit_ a _fucking_ _wolf's_ _face_ _off_!"

"Well I guess you won't be needing breakfast." Kakashi comments flippantly, "And I don't suppose you managed to walk up your tree? I can't leave you alone for five minutes without you completely disregarding my instructions. Way to be professional."

"I _killed_ a _wolf_ with my _teeth_!" Kiba enunciates slowly, "I fucking killed a goddamn wolf with my teeth - holy shit I can't believe I did that."

"You also ruined a perfectly good jacket," Kakashi mollifies, "which, by the way, I will not be replacing. Expect to be written up, you and your - your hedonistic torn-clothing fetish. And where's Akamaru?"

"He's in my hood – fucking shit killed a wolf with my teeth… I killed a _w_-"

"Sasuke, stop talking. We're late for a fight with the big sword guy. We were supposed to be on the bridge like, an hour ago."

"A _wolf_! Okay… " Kiba heaves around for a bit, slightly out of breath, "Okay… I'm okay… Alright, I'm good – wait, we're late?"

"Very late." Kakashi clarifies, sounding extremely disappointed. "Waiting on you now."

"We're late, though? As in, we were supposed to – wait, the big sword guy is waiting for us? Isn't he dead?"

"You need to stop saying stupid things, Sasuke. Seriously." He shakes his head. "Expect to get written up for your stupidity and needless abuse of the human language. Also animal cruelty."

"How do you even know he's waiting and not dead?" Kiba wonders aloud, "…You guys talk?"

"Not much." Kakashi replies, "got a note this morning. Apparently he challenged me to fisticuffs at high-noon, and it would be just _impolite_ to ignore it. Had to find my formal gloves, an hour gone, right there."

"Really?" Kiba sounds hopeful.

"Sasuke…" Kakashi sighs and shakes his head. "Sometimes I wonder…"

-0-

"He's _late_… Did you give him the note?" Zabuza inquires hesitantly; chin resting on hands clasped over the butt-end of his sword, sword resting through the sternum of a long dead construction worker.

Haku sighs. "Yes… Yes, I gave him the note."

"Good." The man replies quickly. "Good… And… Haku?"

"Hm?"

"How do I look?"

"I…" She furrows her brow and fumbles for words for a moment while Zabuza wrings out his hands nervously. "What?"

"I mean," He clarifies, "Like – how do I look? Good?"

"I… You look… You look good…"

"Cool… Cool… Imposing?" He adds gruffly, "Do I look imposing? I – should I slouch more?"

"You look fine."

"Should I switch the dead guy? I mean, should I stab a new one when they show up, you know, for impact?"

"It's _fine_."

"I – I just – how are my arm thingies? Are they good? And… Straight?"

She groans.

"A - are they straight!" He snaps, almost violently, "Like, symmetrical! Aesthetics are _important_, Haku!"

"They're _fine_." Haku claims forcefully, ignoring the man as he huffs, tears the things from his arms and hurls them off the bridge. "I'm sure that they'll come soon. After all, we sent them a note, asking them to be here, an hour ago. I'm sure there's nothing suspicious about that."

"Hey, is that – is that sarcasm I detect, there?"

Haku grimaces over at him.

"Look, I'm just doing my job, okay? I don't need you getting snippy with me."

"You sent them a _note_, Zabuza." She trails off pointedly, "Did I leave the senbon in too long? Is that what happened?"

"Oh that's real nice." He waves his hands around flippantly, "Thank you Haku, for that lovely comment there. How about my shoes, huh? Are my shoes up to your _ridiculous_ standards? Are my laces _laced_ correctly?"

"_What_ – You don't even _have_ laces – Look, I'm just saying that a _note_ isn't exactly the most… subtle plan of action and – _put your shoes back on!_"

"Oh no - they're not _good_ enough for little miss _perfect_," Zabuza grouches petulantly, "Well, they've got to go, apparently. How's my shirt? Are the vertical lines _slimming_ enough? No? Well it's got to go."

"Stop _stripping_!"

"How about my pants? Are they _existing_ properly? _No_? Fuck. Balls. Shit. Well, they've got to g-"

"Oi, Zabuza, you here?"

"Oh _shit_!" He whispers harshly, re-fastening his pants with shaking fingers, "Haku, they're here! Quick! Where's my shirt? Where are my _shoes_!"

Haku takes a deep breath that had stopped being calming five minutes ago. "You threw them off the bridge."

"_Quiet_!" He hushes her, "They'll hear you!"

"Zabuza? It's Kakashi. I got your note… Sorry I'm late; I had to find Disappointment. I mean Sasuke."

-0-

"… Zabuza? Turns out I actually meant Disappointment." Kakashi calls out again.

"H- hold on!" A voice permeates the mist, seemingly coming from every direction at once and making Sakura fold in on herself just a bit. The ominous voice continues in a thick whisper, "_Haku, give me your shoes!_" The sounds of a small scuffle echoes past.

"Take your time." Kakashi calls into the mist, "No rush."

"…Really?" an exasperated Kiba asks. "Really?"

"_Ah – Haku! Give me. Your shoes."_

Kakashi frowns at him. "We've been over this, _Disappointment_. Now _quiet_. This is serious. People have died." He gestures around vaguely at the handful of dead construction workers close enough to be visible through the heavy mist, most pierced through the middle but for the unfortunate soul over by his left split at the waist, pouring onto the bridge like a tipped glass of spaghetti. Sakura finally realizes that the murky off-brown liquid she is standing in isn't water and keels over bonelessly. Sasuke eyes the corpses and doesn't move much.

"I know it's serious." Kiba continues, "That's why I'm wondering why we're just _standing_ here while big-sword guy is vulnerable."

"Again, we've been _over_ this. Stop being so woefully incompetent."

"_Haku! Shoes! Now!"_

"Now just stand there and be quiet, _adults_ are talking."

"Oh my god. Sakura, you hearing this?" Sakura gurgles and Kiba flips her on her back with his foot. "Superstar? An opinion?" Sasuke continues to stare intently at the bisected man, evidently in his own world. "Am I the only sane person here?"

"Sasuke. Mouth. Shut. _Now_."

Zabuza ghosts from the mist, sword slung over his shoulder. "So you came, did you? How foolish." He growls, baring his jagged-lined teeth for just a moment. "This mistake will be your last."

"That's where you're wrong, Zabuza." Kakashi returns without missing a beat, sounding just as serious, "This mistake will by my _first_… shit, I mean… My first, not in that… in that there will be mistakes _after_… I swear, I had something for this."

"So you came, did you? _Imbecile_." Zabuza reiterates indulgently, and cackles menacingly, "This mistake will be your last."

"This coming from a man with no shoes?" Kakashi chortles into his hand haughtily, "hello pot, meet kettle."

"You'll never hear me coming." Zabuza declares in a move that Kakashi has no choice but to respect.

"I'll smell you coming just fine. Mister swamp-foot."

"Again with the feet?" The man grimaces, "Howsabout I make you five feet shorter, then you can look them in the toe-nails and talk about how shitty your hair is."

"How about we talk about your blatant inferiority complex."

"How about _shut the hell up._"

Kiba snaps. "Are you gonna fight or just keep _bitching_ at each other."

Kakashi turns to him. "Oh my _god_, Disappointment. We've been over this! You _never_ interrupt a ninja while they're posturing!"

"Seriously, so fucking rude." Zabuza points his sword at him. "You interrupt your mother with that mouth?"

"I've taught you better than that, Disappointment."

"Oh - you're my _least_ favorite. Well… Not my least _favorite_-"

"Shut up I totally get it."

"Punk bitch."

"Uncouth ruffian."

"_Butthead_." Zabuza huffs and crosses his arms gruffly. "Kakashi, how the hell do you put up with him?"

Kakashi heaves a great sigh. "Sometimes I wonder."

"Screw this I killed a wolf with my teeth." Kiba storms from the bridge and no one stops him.

-0-

"That's what I'm talkin' about." Waruiji declares, removing the hand resting on the hilt of his waist-mounted sword to make a vague gesture in the air, "If they're unconscious you can't get too passionate because-"

"Because you'll look like a damn fool." Oiro replies, scratching at the scar stretching diagonally from hairline to chin, "We've been over this before, and I still prefer unconscious."

"And again," Waruiji says, "I absolutely don't want to screw around with what equates to a piece of warm meat, it's so… unromantic. A total moodkiller."

"Irrelevant." Oiro claims flatly, "if they're awake they do that whole screaming, crying thing and I feel just terrible. Total sadgasm."

"You'd rather tenderize a steak?" Waruiji snaps, almost angrily. His expression then turns sour. "And _now_ I'm hungry. See what you did! Now that's all I'm gonna' be able to think about!"

"_Hey_ - hostile work environment."

Waruiji snorts. "You dropped your purse."

Oiro frowns. "You are a horrible human being and should be ashamed of yourself."

Waruiji waves his hands around flippantly. "I'm not saying it's not horrible, alright? But it's friggen _mandatory_. I don't pretend to understand that little turd's mental facilities, I just do what he tells me."

"You knew what was up the minute he brought out the girl in the collar – you know what? This conversation is over." The pair closes on the modest house down the road, and pauses before it in silent contemplation. "This the place?"

Waruiji grimaces and glances over at the other man. "Should be. How you wanna' do this."

"In and out, no shenanigans."

"That's what sh-"

"Shut up. Let's get this over with."

"I'll get it!" Anko slurs horribly in response to the loud knocking, and staggers over to the door. She misses the doorknob twice before opening it. She finds two… no, four – no, wait, two. She finds two men standing at the door. One a foot taller than her, hair adding yet another foot to his scarred form in a quartet of ridiculous looking spikes. The second stands a foot shorter than her, with the most distinguishing characteristic being a mangled tattoo underneath his right eye, and the fact that he is reared back as if in preparation to knock the door off its horribly rusted hinges.

The short man makes a face, plants his raised foot down and gruffly proclaims: "It's _raping time._" The second man bashes him over the head without saying a word.

"…What's up." Anko asks.

"We're here for Tsunami." The tall one says, resting one of his hands on the sword at his waist in unspoken threat.

"Well, whaddo you want with her." She replies, and slips a kunai behind her back.

"A cup of sugar." The tall man glares down at the short man, who amends as if it improved the sentiment, "_sensual _sugar_."_

"We got rice. That's kinda' like sugar." Anko palms a second kunai behind her back.

"How is rice _anything_ _like_ s-"

"What did we fucking talk about thirty seconds ago." The tall one snaps and continues before the shorter one can indignantly reply, "that's right, _no shenanigans_. Take her to the bridge, that's _all_."

"I don't think I like your tone." The short one replies, "mister _hostile work environ_-"

Anko shoves a kunai through the shorter one's neck, and as his body collapses she easily ducks the taller one's quick-draw slash and sinks the second kunai up through the hollow of his jaw, all the way to the ring, rising to kick him back as he keels over forwards.

"Naruto." She calls into the house, "Shit's going down. Let's go."

-0-

"Alright, so we're agreed." Kakashi states formally, "My hair, while silver and spiked by nature, is in no way lame. And you, while for some reason shirtless and shoeless, are in fact in said state under your own informed and purposeful intentions, and are in no way mentally impaired for choosing aforementioned state over-"

"Kakashi." Anko wades through the mist, Naruto in full AnBu gear at her side as they stop a few feet from him, "Just killed some would-be Tsunami-nappers, what's going on?"

"Oh, hey Anko." He replies distractedly, "Don't know about the Tsunami-nappers part, but we were just having a dignified conversation about our current aesthetic characteristics."

"Shootin' the shit, huh?"

"Well, if you want to degrade the sentiment, sure."

"Wait – what the hell!" Zabuza finally snaps and points at the new arrivals with his sword angrily, "you can't just bring more people, that's cheating!"

"I didn't bring them, Zabuza–" He turns to Anko and Naruto mid-sentence to specify, "-that's Zabuza, by the way. Nice guy, little rough around the edges-" He turns back, "they just showed up. Not my fault."

Zabuza opens his mouth to reply and is promptly interrupted.

"Some 'Demon of the Mist,'" a voice cuts across the bridge, and Zabuza turns to find a large mob of heavily armed mercenaries at the far end, and at the very front a squat little man he instantly recognizes. "more like opinionated shoe-mongrel of the mist."

"When the _hell_ did you get there!" Zabuza snaps indignantly, promptly turning on Kakashi to growl "did you see them get there?"

"Well, yeah." He replies plainly, "they were pretty obvious, once you dropped the mist I could see them climbing up pretty easy."

"And you didn't warn me!"

"I didn't want to spoil their entrance."

"A-"

"So!" The squat man intrudes once again, "what a situation I find. Arriving here, expecting to find you doing your job, and you're talking. Good thing I didn't pay in advance."

"...What a rude little man." Kakashi notes. Anko has no idea what is going on, and plods over to sit on one of the man's unconscious genin. Naruto joins her shortly.

"Alright, whatever. What do you want, Gato." Zabuza finally asks, shouldering his sword as Haku appears up from a puddle at his side.

"What do I want?" The man replies, gesticulating wildly, "I wanted you to do what I told you to, now, though? I want you-" He calls out the mob at his back, "to bring me the Zabuza and company's heads. Then I want you find the bridgebuilder and bring him to me."

"That's how it is, huh?" Zabuza growls and straightens, "You're dead."

"Oh, a death threat, how clever." Gato dismisses, "my merry band of mercenaries, the one who brings me his head gets quadruple pay and all the women they can carry!"

His proclamation is the final straw, and the band of mercenaries, previously seething in anticipation and doing such mercenary-esque things as licking blades and pulling swords and spinning unwieldy pikes, numbering over five hundred strong, now bursts forth around him like the water from a broken dam. However, the bridge is quite long, and Zabuza has more than time enough to turn to Kakashi and group and say,

"You want to help me kill that turd?"

Kakashi opens his mouth.

"Oh hells yes." Anko says, rising from the prone body of the pink one and cracking her back. "He's the guy that wants the bridge guy dead, yeah?"

"Yeah."

"Then, yeah. Kakashi?"

Kakashi glances over at her, then behind him at the mass of sharp bodies surging forth, covering the bridge from edge to edge (some actually jostling others over) and so thickly massed he wonders if they practiced their coordination beforehand. "Sure, I guess."

"Oh this is gonna' be awesome." Anko gushes and quickly turns to a confused Naruto. "Naruto, wait here, shoot any of them that get past… _there_." She points to a spot five feet in front of her. "Alright, let's go fuck up a short fat man."

Zabuza grins sharply in response. "Haku, wait here. I'll be back."

"Joy." Haku replies blandly.

"Oi, with the sarcasm, really?"

"…We need to talk about this, later, Zabuza."

"Damn right we do." He says back, and scowls over at the mob now fifty feet from them.

Zabuza gives one last suggestion to Anko and Kakashi. "My head-chopper ain't the most accurate thing in the world. Watch yourselves."

"Yeah yeah."

"Whatever."

"Hey – don't give me attitude, alright? I don't need that."

"You're being defensive." Kakashi says and Anko sighs.

"Look, I'm just trying to be polite, okay? And you go and snap at me, I don't need that attitude right now."

The mob is around twenty feet from them.

"Why are you being so sensitive," Kakashi questions, "I didn't mean to implicate anything with my lackluster response, that's just my personality at work. Deal with it."

"So you're always a dick?"

"Woa, woa. Let's keep off the potty-talk mister grumpy-pants."

"Screw this I'm bored." Anko says flatly, "Naruto – shoot them."

Naruto swipes a hand across, a needlethin beam of intense red flaring forth in a wide sweeping arc, the beam cutting out before and after Anko, Zabuza and Kakashi. The bulk of the mob falls apart through the middle, the taller ones at the legs, the shorter ones at the gut. The mass slops to the ground, silent, and the few saved by blocked pathing spring leaks as a red cannonball blisters forth overhead and screams apart in mid-air, releasing a volley of marbles that honeycomb anyone remaining.

And as the last mercenary keels over Gato drops his cane, and stares in bitter incomprehension at the pool of off-grey oozing out the bridge's drainage as most of his hair drifts down off his head.

"Fucking shit." Zabuza quips eloquently. Kakashi has nothing to add and Anko almost cackles but decides that it would be inappropriate a moment later. She notes nonetheless that what Naruto had just done was infinitely more badass and less clothes-staining than what she would have done.

She gestures: "One fat man, have at him."

"… Alright then." Zabuza says, wading through the corpse mob, closer and closer to Gato who backs away, stumbling and inarticulate. Eventually, Gato reaches the end of construction, and gazes down at the whirling red water. He can't remember his waiting boat.

"Look at that." Zabuza comments, "I guess my clever death threat came true."

"No." Gato pleas hastily, his wits returning, "No – you can't kill me. I'll – I'll give you anything! Money! Women! Fame! Name it and it will be yours!"

"I want you to die." He mutters, stabbing his head-chopping-cleaver into the concrete and pulling a kunai. "think you can hook me up?"

"Please – this is madness!"

"Madness?" Zabuza replies perturbedly, and steps closer to Gato. "You come onto _my_ bridge, call _me_ an opinionated shoe mongrel, use a cane like _you're_ a pimp – you're not a freaking pimp - and you call this madness?"

"Wha – I –" Gato isn't sure whether to be terrified or offended.

"This isn't madness!" Zabuza roars, "This! Is! Sparta!" He rears back and smashes his foot into Gato's chest, launching him from the bridge into the cloudy waters below where he imagines the man will soon be eaten by attracted sharks. Zabuza then scratches his cheek, plucks up his sword, and walks back across the bridge where Haku patiently waits with her arms crossed.

"… We good?" He asks the Konoha group.

"Yeah." Kakashi shrugs.

"Cool. C'mon Haku, let's go."

"See ya' Zabuza." Anko waves at him. Naruto also waves at him and he flinches just a bit.

"Before I go…" The swordsman asks timidly, "who, exactly, is that?" He points at Naruto, who points back at him and he flinches again.

Anko pads over and loops an arm over Naruto's shoulders. "This is Naruto."

"…Ah." He replies. "… Well then… Uh…" Zabuza smacks his lips and walks away.

**Chapter 6: **

"Holy shit, Naruto." Anko says, gandering up at the forest of topless trees leading far into the distance, "You are a dangerous girl." Naruto beams at the maybe praise and almost lops another layer off the forest before Anko stops her with a hand. "How far you think it goes?" She aims over at a silently reading Kakashi.

Kakashi couldn't tell back at wave and he has no estimations now. "A mile, tops." He half-guesses.

Anko snorts and tosses an arm over Naruto. "A mile's like a shitload, though. Seriously, Naruto, _crazy dangerous_."

"A mile _is_ pretty far." He agrees halfheartedly, "… I guess."

-0-

"Fucking holy shit, Naruto." Anko notes in all seriousness as she tilts her head at the topless trees trailing out both behind and before her as far as her eyes can see. "I don't even know what to say about this… Kakashi?"

"My mile estimate was off." He muses, "On the bright side, we proved the world is round. The cuts are higher up."

"Or the cut's at an angle."

"… Hm?"

-0-

It is with a slightly relieved conscience that Anko reaches the village gates, Naruto at her side and Kakashi alternating between behind her and beside her, as he gradually focuses more and more on his book and less and less on walking, until he looks up and realizes that he has stopped completely and jogs to keep pace. The treetoplessnes had stopped a few miles back though not from lack of trying; there simply weren't trees tall enough. Anko hopes that the forest of death hasn't collapsed and killed everyone. Sort of.

"Oi, Kakashi…" She says as the guards catch one close look of them, avert their eyes, fall to their knees and bow, "…the fuck?"

"Maybe they're trying to look up your skirt." He replies in all seriousness. "_Maybe._"

Anko grimaces and takes a deep breath, because something in her gut tells her things are going to suck no end of ass.

After a long, strained silence walk to the Hokage tower, Anko waits outside his office – loud, frantic voices muffled from within and she knows then and there that something is wrong. She looks over at Naruto, the sight of which had sent the Sandaime's secretary into a frothing epileptic fit, and smiles at her, as reassuring as she can manage and pats her arm.

Naruto smiles back at her and throws an arm over her shoulder and Anko jumps as something cracks against the wooden doors to the Hokage's office with enough force to splinter around the hinges. Then the sound of breaking glass.

The doors open and the Sandaime forcefully smiles, the corners of his lips straining back and up as he sees her and Naruto and Kakashi eased back in the waiting room chairs.

"Come on in." He tells Anko.

"Alright." Anko asks, stands and squeezes past the man, Naruto in tow as he slams the door and follows in after her.

Anko looks at the shattered window to her left, the conspicuous lack of a visitor's chair before his desk, the conspicuous lack of childlike delight in his horribly strained smile.

"… We're back." Anko says, "So…" The Hokage pulls something that Anko quickly recognizes as a bingo book from his desk, "…What's up."

"Tell me," The Sandaime instructs as he stands at his full not-that-menacing-old-person-height of five-foot-six before her, expression somehow illustrating how easily he could reach out and snap her neck, "why did I send you out of the village?"

"Cause…" Anko replies hesitantly, "Cause of that… uh… Oh, the brai-"

"I sent you out of the village," He cuts in, tone as though she had interrupted him, "to provide an opportunity to expose Naruto's situation to the council and give them time, _away_ from the source, to come to terms with her condition. That is why I had you leave the village."

"Okay then." She says diplomatically and latches onto Naruto for reassurance.

He holds up his Bingo-Book. "What is this?"

"A uh… a Bingo Book?"

He flips the book open to the first page and shows it to her. "Tell me, what do you see here?"

Anko blinks down at the offered page and sighs forlornly. "Zabuza you… _Slut._"

"Tell me what you see here."

She sighs again, exasperated. "Naruto's picture… And a bit of my arm-"

"What does it say, this magical picture of yours?"

"Ugh… _Red-Death Naruto_…"

"Is that so? Hm." He tilts his head contemplatively, "how the bugger did that get in there…"

"…I don't know." Anko denies lamely and Sarutobi snaps and smacks her across the face with the open Bingo-Book.

"Septuple-S-Class!" He raves, "Septuple goddamn S-Class! That's _not even_ a _rank_! How the _hell_ did this happen! You know how much shit I'm in for this?"

"I-"

He smacks her with the book again. "You have no lines in this conversation. Naruto, go get Kakashi so I can yell at him too."

Naruto doesn't move.

"Could you go get Kakashi, Naruto?" Anko asks as he _looks_ at her, the girl nods and appears with Kakashi in tow a few moments later.

"I heard you yelling." The man chitters as he stashes his book. "It hurt me, right here." He points at his heart and Sarutobi slaps him with the Bingo-Book.

"Shut up. And dare I ask, _where_ is your team?"

Kakashi glances off to the side suspiciously. "… K.I-"

"Wrong again." Sarutobi snaps, "See, you don't have any lines in this conversation."

"Can I have circles?"

Sarutobi smacks him with the book again. "Not a word out of either of you."

"Can we make affirmative grunts and such?" Kakashi inquires politely, "I only ask because it's difficult for me to express myse-"

"No words. Don't even blink-"

"-Ah. I blinked."

"…"

"Oops."

"…Get _the hell_ out of my office."

"Wha-" Anko squawks, "Why does _he_ get to leave!"

"Because shut up. Kakashi. Out. _Now_."

Kakashi gets the hell out of his office and leaves Anko standing there, slightly more behind Naruto with every passing second.

Sarutobi fumes silently for an uncomfortable minute but sighs after, and shambles over behind his desk to slouch in his high backed chair. He looks small and Anko feels a little bad.

"… What's up boss man?" She prods sympathetically, wandering over to hop up on a corner of his desk and look out his mostly intact window. Naruto hops up on the other corner and almost topples.

Sarutobi exhales. "So many things. So many things I can't stay angry."

"Sad." Anko says before she can stop herself.

He continues on, ignoring her sentiment. "This is the exact opposite of what I wanted to happen. Now… Through what I assume to be some sort of publishing error, Naruto is the first Septuple-S Class Ninja in history." He can't help but sigh again. "Why couldn't things have stayed simple…"

"Yeah, with all that and stuff." Anko dismisses, "but, real quick – explain why this is a bad thing? Cause, like… Isn't it a good thing to have strong people? Like a big – she's not a ninja by the way – like a big sign outside sayin '_don't fuck with me_.'"

"It is a good thing, yes." Sarutobi replies quietly, "but not for Naruto. I didn't want this for her. Not now... Not ever, if I could help it." He glances up at her and Anko can't help but notice how out of place his expression is. "Things will change, you know. They will come for her in the night – the life of an S class Ninja is not a quiet one."

"_Septuple_-S Class."

"Semantics."

"Don't be a butt - and why not? She's got no bounty. According to the books she's tough as hell and not worth a shiny shit dead _or_ alive, _and _she's with Konoha... Also she's a civilian. That's like… _less_ than zero motivation. Negative motivation. Demotivation... That last one sounds right."

"I wasn't talking about enemy Ninja, not yet at least."

-0-

"The fuck are you doing in my house."

"Yo Anko." Kakashi waves at her from a very nice couch she doesn't remember having. "Hiding from people."

Anko grimaces, prods Naruto inside and rummages through the equally unfamiliar fridge. "You can't just hide in my place every time you piss someone off, Kakashi."

"… Why not?"

She pulls a bottle of expensive looking something that she does not remember buying and takes a glug. "It's a goddamn invasion of privacy. How would you like it if I broke into your house and ate your – _put down that dango you asshole._"

"Maa." Kakashi returns a partially eaten skewer to its box and eases back with a sigh. "You're the only person who condones my sedimentary lifestyle."

"No I'm not."

"Well. You have the biggest-"

"Stop."

"Biggest _heart_. Why is the cup always half empty with you." He shakes his head at her and she absently flashes a finger.

A weird aftertaste sets in and Anko looks down at the bottle in her hand appraisingly. "The hell is this?"

"Oh." Kakashi replies, enlightened. "Right. There was a Hyuuga here. Had some stuff delivered."

"… Ah." Anko glances around and understands why her apartment had evolved in her absence. "Well that explains that… Sort of."

"Yeah. They said something about keeping Naruto at least 300 feet from the Hyuuga compound at all times. She like… Blinded a bunch of people or something."

Anko remembers the time she had walked near the Hyuuga complex with Naruto and bolted when the place started shrieking. "No idea what they're talking about. But this is like… A bribe, yeah?"

"More like protection money." Kakashi quips and almost grabs the dango skewer from the mahogany coffee table. "Maybe extortion? One of those 'ortion' words."

Anko returns to the fridge and beams as she pulls a box of dango. "I like the sound of extortion… Yeah, that sounds cool. I 'extorted' the Hyuuga."

"Technically Naruto extorted the Hyuuga." Kakashi chides.

"Semantics."

"That's not semantics."

"… Semantics."

"Don't be a butt. I'm just trying to be helpful."

"Maa…"

"Hey – that's my noise."

"Sure."

"And Anko?"

Anko grunts.

"You know where my team is?"

"Yeah." Anko replies, wandering over to rest back on the other unfamiliar couch forming an 'L' around the coffee table. "They're in Wave, stupid."

"I left them in Wave?" Kakashi mutters, tasting the words. "I left them in Wave… You sure?"

"Well they weren't with us on the run back, so… Pretty sure. And who are you hiding from, by the way."

"Oh I'm not hiding from anyone. I just wanted some free food." Anko frowns at him and he amends after a moment, "Also some company." He sighs. "…It gets lonely."

Anko sighs and Naruto appears next to her, a mystery bottle in hand that she takes absently. "Thank you Naruto – and… Kakashi?" She crooks her head to peer at the man through slits. "… Get the hell out of my apartment."

"Where will I go?" Kakashi asks, trying to sound pathetic but he gives up after an emphatic '_wh_.'

"I don't care." Anko stands and plods around, examining her actually pretty nice apartment - ignoring size constraints. Her eyes light up as she finds a newly installed and just a bit too large bath in her bathroom. "Your place. A ditch. _Whatever_. Seriously though, get out. It's drunk-bath time."

"Drunk bath time…" Kakashi muses. "Get out… Drunk bath time… Hm…"

"This isn't an 'either or' deal, Kakashi. Get out or I have Naruto shoot you." Anko starts the water.

"Can't I just sit on the couch?" Kakashi drones from the couch, putting down a stick of mostly eaten dango that he'd subconsciously picked up once again. "I'll be good."

Anko rummages through the fridge and begins pulling bottles. "Naruto, s-"

"I'm going, I'm going." Kakashi sighs and wanders out, looking back over his shoulder pathetically, but no one watches, and he just sighs again and closes the door behind him.

-0-

Maybe she's drunk, Anko notes as Naruto flops over her clumsily for maybe the third time. As such she can maybe blame the alcohol for her arm around Naruto's waist, because a warm body on hers feels better than her perhaps hazy mind can articulate. Warmer and softer than the water, and the conspicuous lack of a heartbeat doesn't bother her as Naruto's chest presses against hers. The lack of breathing is entirely new, though.

"… Naruto?" Anko mutters woozily.

Naruto tries to sit up again but her entirely frictionless body just slides against the sides of the bath. Her silence becomes questioning.

"You okay?"

Naruto gives up and flops over Anko bonelessly. "Ah."

"… Do you mean 'yeah?'"

She huffs through her nose and the breath on Anko's neck makes her shiver. It also confuses her even more.

"… Yeah." Naruto lilts and slides down Anko's chest.

"That's cool." Anko replies softly. "Coolie cool… Cool I'm so drunk… Or maybe my brain's not so good. From when – from when you slipped and I pushed… you pushed me cracked head on bath…" Anko smacks her lips. "… Blood?"

[Time passed: 5 days]

Kakashi's door implodes and the man pauses eating his cereal mid-spoonful to smack his lips and quirk a dazed look over his shoulder. "Ah – good. You're here." He says to his noticeably ragged team. "You certainly took your time, though. Way to be _professional_. I almost gave up waiting."

Kiba catches enough breath to straighten up from his hands on knees posture to point at the man. "…_ You._"

"_Me_… You see why this conversation isn't progressing?"

Sakura keels over and down the nearby flight of stairs and Sasuke doesn't catch her. Kiba continues to point at the man. "You… _You_… _Fuck_. You are a _unit_ of _fuck_."

Kakashi's eye drifts closed just a bit and he remembers how tired he is. "I see a bit of wilderness hasn't made you any less charming, Sasuke. You can be our ambassador to the Land of Pottymouth – It smells bad too, so you'll feel right at home."

"You _never_ make any fucking sense! – Wait don't change the subject! You fucking _left_ us, in Wave. Fucking _Wave_ – you know, the fucking island?"

"_With_ a _bridge_." Kakashi mollifies with a yawn. "You know, those things that let you walk over water?"

"Fuck Zabuza Bridge!" Kiba snarls, "fuck you too!"

"Language."

"You better have a _damn_ good reason for leaving us!" He fumes.

Kakashi glances off to the side suspiciously. "A… training exercise."

Kiba turns and literally vomits from rage while Kakashi raises his hands and makes disgusted gestures at the strange pink gloop splattering all over his floor. Kiba stops retching, wipes his mouth and straightens up. "… You know what? I don't even care anymore."

"Say, Sasuke… I've got a riddle for you." Kakashi says quietly, "if a dog defecates in my house, and I'm around to see it, whose face do I use to clean it up?"

"The dog's I'd imagine." Kiba replies thoughtlessly then realizes how tall Kakashi is as the man rises from his half eaten cereal.

"That's right. _Yours_. You want to do this the easy way or the hard way."

"…Easy way please." He titters.

"Eat it."

"_What_."

"That is the easy way. The hard way is I _grind your face _into the carpet until that vomit vanishes."

"That's really messed up." Kiba notes and takes a not so subtle step back.

Kakashi huffs and wanders over to the kitchen to toss rag to him. "This is the medium way. I want to be able to see my reflection when you're done."

-0-

"I just hate them so much, you know?"

"Yes, I know." Anko replies bitterly, "you told me already. Twice. Right after you popped out of my fridge."

"I just… I don't know what to do…" Kakashi mourns as though his distaste physically pained him, "I… I…"

"Use your words, Kakashi."

"Like… Like Orochimaru and coffee and hot sauce all – all… Just, all that smashed between two crackers and shoved up your ass, that's how much I hate them."

"…Why do you hate them so much, Kakashi?" Anko ventures after a moment of silence, continuing on with her breakfast noisily. "They're not that bad, just a bit annoying. Hell, all kids are annoying."

"You wouldn't understand."

"Okay."

"Wh – You're supposed to go like, 'try me' or something." He stammers, sounding hurt.

Anko shakes her head helplessly. "I don't care that much."

Kakashi turns to Naruto and finds her shaking her head as well. He inflates, mouth agape. "Wh – I – I _hate you_! I _hate this family_!"

"What?"

"I wish I was never _born_!" Kakashi screeches and bolts from the table, slamming a door behind him.

"Get out of my room!" Anko shouts after him, ignoring his petulant "_no!" _in response and taking another bite of her mystery Hyuuga breakfast.

"No! I'm never coming out!" Kakashi blusters from her room, "No one understands me!"

"Look – if you hate them that much just have them killed! Or promoted or something!"

Kakashi wanders out of her room and returns to his chair sedately. "That's actually pretty reasonable. If I remember right the Chunin Exams are coming up, assuming it all works out right I'll be rid of them… Or they could live, and then they might get reassigned. Hmm…" He ponders for a minute, stealing various food items from Naruto's plate in silent contemplation until he finally shrugs to himself. "Worth a shot."

"By the way, Kakashi?"

"Hm?"

"Knock from now on, yeah?"

"… Alright, fine." He sniffs. Smoke starts pouring into the room. "Also, I broke your bed."

A large bird crashes through the nearby window while Anko fills a pot with water and dashes to her room. Kakashi brushes a few shards of glass off his shoulders and takes the note from the twitching bird's leg.

"What the _fuck_ did you do!" Anko bellows as she reappears long enough to refill the pot.

"Good news," Kakashi says in response, "the nominations are today at 3:00. You wanna tag along?"

A blast shakes the building and Anko shrieks. "What the _dick_! You put explosives?"

"Yeah you want to tag along." He summarizes assuredly. "Anko, me and Naruto are going to the nominations, you want to tag along too?"

"Goddamnit Kakashi, help me!"

Kakashi glances around looking for something to help with the fire, and after a moment hurls the dazed bird into the other room. A muffled boom follows, along with a plume of feathers.

"Yeah, you totally want to tag along. Come on Naruto, let's go." He pads out and no one follows him.

[4:00]

"Sorry I'm late, I was masturbating and it got everywhere."

Sarutobi sighs and gestures to an empty seat near the middle of the gathered Jounin. Kakashi flashes him a thumbs up, and, acting as though that excused him from any and all personal responsibility, flounces to his seat and plops down. Someone makes a disgruntled noise and Sarutobi clears his throat.

"… Where was I?"

Iruka, seated at a side podium near the front, coughs into his hand. "We were waiting for Kakashi, since we cannot conclude this meeting without him."

"Ah, yes. Thank you Iruka." The man replies genially, "Kakashi, would you like to nominate your… Team?"

Kakashi glances up from Kurenai's cleavage. "… Hmm? Oh, yes."

"Okay then. Everyone," He calls out grandly, "you are excused. Pick up the forms on your way out."

"Question." Kakashi calls as the group angrily disperses around him. "How likely is my team to pass?"

Iruka grimaces. "Not very. I heard that Ibiki is in charge this time around."

Kakashi strokes his mask thoughtfully. "Ibiki, huh… Hmm…"

-0-

"Good news." Kakashi appears from somewhere to chirp brightly, "I've nominated you two and Sasuke for the Chuunin Exams."

Kiba smacks his lips. "What are those words you just said. Are they 'sorry I'm three hours late?'"

Kakashi ignores him. "Here are the forms," he hands Sakura and Sasuke each a form, crumples the third into a ball and pings it off Kiba's head. "Sign them and show up where they say."

The man turns to leave but pauses. "You _all_ have to sign them to compete, so…" He tilts his head at Sakura suggestively.

-0-

"Hey, Ibiki… Got a second?" Kakashi calls out to the man, who promptly turns to him and cracks a frown.

"No."

"Cool." Kakashi replies and holds out a steaming cup. "…Coffee?"

"What are you playing at, Kakashi?"

"Oh you can read me like a book." Kakashi chitters girlishly, "_Not_. I'm just offering you a cup of innocent coffee… Nothing odd about that."

Ibiki sniffs and takes the proffered cup, swirling it around under a jaundiced eye. "… It's drugged, isn't it."

"Wha?" Kakashi squawks, "I'm _offended_, Ibiki."

Ibiki holds out the mug. "Take a sip, then."

Kakashi does and passes it back. "Just a friendly cup of coffee, Ibiki. Good luck with the test." The man then wanders off and Ibiki shrugs and downs it.

-0-

"I couldn't stop looking at his junk." Kiba says a bit too loudly, taking a seat next to Sakura. "I mean, it was right there… Like, vacuum sealed. Like a… A green…" He inhales and tries to think of a good comparison. "…_Penis_."

Sakura slowly palms her face. "I know… I know… Did you see, when he blew me a kiss? It-"

"For the love of shit don't finish that sentence."

Sasuke cringes and grabs at his bruised and revolted stomach. He is just about to add to inform them that _they_ didn't have to see vertical split kick when the door slams open and admits the second most frightening man he has ever seen. The man storms to the front of the room and the air instantly goes silent. He stands there for a minute, heatedly glaring at them.

Someone sneezes.

He flares his nostrils. "Get the hell out of my classroom."

"Wh- I _sneezed_!" The Rain-nin defends indignantly.

"Get. Out." Ibiki grinds.

The ninja stands and angrily gestures themselves to the door. "It's locked." He says plainly.

"Get out!" Ibiki shouts.

"I – It – it's _locked_." He replies hesitantly. "The door is l-"

"Getooooout!"

No matter how much he jingles the doorknob the door won't open. "I'm trying, It's _locked_!"

"_Getooooooooooooo_-"

The ninja flattens against the door in fear. Ibiki stomps over to him, grabs him by the lapel and hurls him through the nearby window. He then returns to the front of the class and faces the crowd.

"Those of you remaining, you pass the first test. The test. Of. _Silence_!"

No one says anything.

Ibiki pulls a sheet of paper from behind his back, sticks a senbon through it and twirls it. "Now the test. Of. _Grace_!" He bellows. "Spin your head so this doesn't appear to be moving!"

One lightning-quick and apparently shameless grass-nin hops up on the tables and performs some sort of stationary cartwheel, actually managing to keep up for two rotations before he flops over onto the floor.

Ibiki snaps his senbon from anger. He jabs a finger at one of the many frightened assistants lining the walls. "Throw him from my classroom."

"T-throw him? Bu-"

"Throw him!" Ibiki punches through a nearby desk and the assistant proctor dashes over, grabs the genin by the shoulder and drags him to the window only to hesitate. "Um – sir… The windows are-"

"Throw. Him." He enunciates tightly.

"The windows are _highly tempered_ a-"

"_Throwiiiiim_!"

The woman lets off a startled shriek and heaves the genin into the glass with all her might. A meaty crunch fills the room, a glob of blood dribbles down the pane.

Ibiki, face a rictus fury, takes a heaving step in her direction. The woman hysterically smashes the genin into the glass again and again, the genin squirting with every impact until she finally breaks into tears and falls on her knees. Ibiki kicks them both through the window and returns to the front of the classroom.

"Those of you remaining… Fail!" He pauses and lets his declaration sink in, a moment later pulling a sheet of paper from behind him and holding it up, the word 'deception' written in bold.

"… What?" A foolish genin hopeful questions. Ibiki signals and another assistant proctor begins crunching him against an unbroken window. Ibiki, ostensibly satisfied with the amount of blood spattering all over the floor, continues.

"Those of you remaining pass the test! Of! _Deception_!" He shouts through the crunching and gurgling. "Turn to the person next to you!"

Everyone does.

"Now _break_ their heart!"

Someone starts crying.

"Good!" Ibiki roars, progressively louder with every word. "You pass the eighth test. Now. For the test! Of! _Tranquility_! Relive a childhood memory to advance!"

No one breathes.

"You! _Faaaail_!" Ibiki grabs one of the genin in the front row and hurls them through one of the three remaining windows. He then faces the remaining crowd again.

"Those of you remaining… Pass!"

"Oh thank god."

"Now, for the final test! The test! Of! _Algebra_! Hold up seven minus five plus one fingers to advance!"

One poor soul holds up two fingers, and squeaks as Ibiki grabs him by the face and hurls him through one of the two remaining windows.

"You! _Paaaaass_!" Ibiki vomits all over his shoes, turns, and leaps from the last remaining window. The bloodied assistant proctor drops the slab of meat that was once a genin, curls into a ball and weeps.

The room is quiet but for the grown man's sobs, and the atmosphere rapidly becomes stiflingly uncomfortable. Kiba makes to tap his fingers on the desk but Sakura catches his hand mid-tap. Sasuke chokes off a sneeze, and just as every single eye turns to him the doors explode into the room and clear through the wall, taking out two assistant proctors in the process.

"Thanks… Naruto…" Anko says as the girl beams expectantly, walking in to the front of the deathly quiet room. She scratches the back of her neck, eyes skittering over the crowd for a moment, then over the blood lining the walls, then she notices the aura of morbid anticipation.

"Alright." She says, voice carrying far louder than she intended. "I don't know what happened… But… There was a guy here, and he tested you, yeah?"

No one responds and Anko turns to share a mutual shrug with Naruto.

"Whatever. I'm the second proctor. I think. So…" She sniffs. "C'mon, all of you, up and at 'em. We're going to the Forest of Death. It'll be fun, you'll see."

Someone cries.

**Chapter 7: **

"Alright. You're all here. That's good." Anko does her best to project despite her crippling apathy. "Now we're gonna start the second test. Uh." She trails off for a moment. "It's something about the forest here. And some scrolls… Maybe I give them to you?" She strokes her chin contemplatively and eyes the table brimming with scrolls, then sneaks a glance at Naruto who shrugs in response.

"Yeah. Alright, all a' you, sign your death forms and trade them for a scroll, one scroll a team. Kakashi's team! Where are you?"

Sakura raises her hand and waves it timidly.

Anko nods and points at them. "You get – uh – sixteen scrolls." She deigns arbitrarily.

"Is that good?" Kiba asks quickly.

"I don't know the rules." Anko replies. "Hopefully not."

Kiba pumps his fist and Anko continues on. "You may have noticed this man next to me." She gestures to Kakashi next to her, on his knees and offering up a box of dango like an Aztec sacrifice. "He is my servant until my room is fixed. That's not really relevant, but. Well, I just wanted to embarrass him for a bit." She gestures to Naruto for a moment. "This is my sex-slave slash chief extorter, Naruto."

Kiba nods.

"Anyway. Um." She sniffs and tilts her head. "I think it goes like this. You all get a scroll, and there's this huge ass tower in the forest, and you have to get there. And the scrolls play into that somehow. I don't know how, though… Honestly, I wasn't paying attention when it was explained to me, so…"

A Grass-nin raises a hand and Anko shrugs and calls on her. "Do they contain provisions or… directions?"

"Don't know." Anko replies. "But we got two types, maybe there's a thing goin' on."

A Mist-nin is called on. "Maybe you need both for admission?"

"Oh that sounds right. So you each get one… Or… Yeah, and then you have to get both and they maybe do stuff too."

"Oooh oooh! Me-me! Me!" A giddy little Rock-nin hops up and down and Anko indulges her. "Can I open them?"

"Sure I guess. Let's find out." She gestures and Naruto tosses the girl a pair of scrolls.

The girl opens them and vaporizes in a cloud of meat.

"Okay then." Anko claps her hands for attention. "Live and learn. Don't open the scrolls, people! Take – did she sign the death form?"

The proctor handing out scrolls fishes through a stack of paper. "Yep."

"Phew. Close one." She turns to the mildly shell-shocked crowd. "Take your scroll and hop in!"

-0-

"Well? What do you think?" The Grass-nin asks, raising each of the many faces in his hand in turn. "This one? Or this one? Or maybe this one… "

"Hmm…" Kabuto grunts and tilts his head. "I like the second one. It brings out your eyes wonderfully."

"I know, right?" She gushes, holding the face up giving it a look-over. "But I don't like the nose. Or the jawline. Too harsh."

"How about the fifth one? The one with the lipstick?"

"Oh – good call." She flattens the third face over hers until the creases all vanish and checks her reflection in a mirror Kabuto holds up indulgently. "I like it. But oh, so many choices. I just can't decide…"

"Then wear all of them." He suggests pragmatically.

"… Kabuto, whatever would I do without you."

Kabuto shrugs.

-0-

"I need to take a dump."

Sakura winces at his proclamation. "That's fine, Kiba. But be quieter next time, please?"

"Oh." Kiba says, just as loud. "Sorry. It's just-"

"And with more consideration for my fragile flower ears."

"-It's just that I really need to shit."

"Again." Sakura reiterates a bit harshly. "Just say 'I need to use the bathroom' or somet-"

"I am not a child, Sakura. I am a man."

"Okay, I have a few things to say in response to that-"

"And I really, really need to shit."

"Alright, whatever. I get it." Sakura assures him, "just go-"

"Probably a two pounder."

"Augh. Why-"

"I could name it." Kiba assures her against her will while Sasuke pretends they are not there and he is not holding a pack full of sixteen scrolls. Kiba then pats his gut fondly. "Your name shall be Tiddlywinks. And you shall have the gift of speed."

Sakura very nearly cracks him across the head. "Just go!"

"Fine. I'm going, _god_." Kiba sighs and looks down at his abdomen. "Can you believe her?" His gut grumbles and he is just about to start spouting babytalk when Sakura plants a foot on his chest and shoves him into the brush.

"Make it fast, we need to keep moving."

-0-

"Oh what the f-" Kiba snarls in response to the kunai pressed to his neck. He stops because of the hand over his mouth and just frowns.

"Keep quiet." Mystery assailant hushes. "When I remove my hand, you will tell me where your scrolls are. Ready? Good."

The hand moves and Kiba grimaces. "You know… I am currently engaged in taking a shit. A shit of epic proportions... I named it Tiddlywinks."

"What…" The kunai digs in a bit and he doesn't flinch. "_Nevermind_. I asked you a question. Don't make me repeat myself."

Kiba scowls.

-0-

"Oh my gooooooood!" What appears to be a Rain-nin leaps from the brush, shrieking at the top of his lungs. Sasuke quirks an eye as the Rain-nin dashes straight past him without sparing a glance, and wonders what could have evoked such a peculiar response.

As if in reply to his internal question, Kiba appears from the bush. Ass first and galloping on all fours like a gigantic spider. He cavorts past them at a good clip, firing wildly into the woods as Sakura pales and makes dry, frothing noises and Sasuke just stands there, shaking his head disappointedly.

Kiba ceases his mutant like sprint not nearly soon enough, straightens, pulls up his pants, and roars into the woods. "Yeah you better run, bitch!" He then adds spontaneously, "you've just been Kiba'd!"

Sakura turns and dry heaves while Sasuke continues shaking his head. "Kakashi was right. You are a filthy, filthy person.

Kiba turns and finally recognizes his team standing there. "Oh, Superstar. Didn't see you there. And Sakura too… Huh." He shrugs helplessly. "Oops."

Sasuke sighs. "That's all you have to say for yourself?"

"Well, yeah." Kiba replies matter-of-factly. "He interrupted me, totally had it coming. And hey, it worked, right?"

"…But at what cost, Kiba." Sasuke averts his eyes and sighs again. "At what cost…"

-0-

"I bit a wolf's face off." Kiba informs the peculiarly mannish woman peering at him confusedly. "Nothing scares me anymore."

"… Oh…" Self-proclaimed Orochimaru says. "Huh…"

"That was about my reaction, really." Kiba diverts his attention long enough to slap the kunai out of Sasuke's hand.

Orochimaru is far too curious to let that proclamation pass by. "… Why?"

"He started it." Kiba justifies plainly.

"No I get that." Orochimaru replies, hopping down from her high branch and wandering closer. "Buy why bite the face? There are so many easier ways to incapacitate."

"You bite the face off a wolf," Kiba says in all seriousness, "and its wolf friends know what the fuck's up."

"…"

"…"

"… I'm going to mark Sasuke now."

"Okay."

Orochimaru quirks the corner of her lips in mild amusement and pads around Kiba to a blankly staring Sasuke. She takes him up roughly and chomps down on his neck while Kiba watches, silently judging her.

"Alright." She says, dropping Sasuke carelessly and turning on her heels. "I'm gonna go. Keep an eye on… What was it… Superstar for me."

Kiba snorts. "Sure."

Orochimaru pats him on the head. "I'm liking the attitude. So polite. Your generation must be even more adequate than usual."

"I'm sure that's a compliment. So, thank you, scary woman."

"Oh it must be." Orochimaru replies assuredly and wanders off. She makes three steps before a foot vaporizes through the air, crunches her head straight down through her neck and pops her sternum like an overripe fruit. Naruto follows after that foot, and touches down as her body gurgles to viscous mud.

"Naruto…" Orochimaru greets hesitantly from her new position, a good ways away on a high branch. "I see my assumptions were correct. Good."

"Oh stop blustering." Anko appears from the brush and says with no small bit of contempt. "You aren't bitching your way out of this one."

"Anko dear, you're here too." She chirps and smiles fondly. "My how you've grown."

"Filled out pretty good didn't I." Anko replies harshly. "Nice to see you, by the way. Found a few people without faces. Figured you were in town… Also I got your note… And you're a girl now. Odd."

She chuckles. "Yes, I-"

"I don't actually care. Just stating an observation."

"Classy."

Anko quiets and grimaces for a moment as Orochimaru leers down from her high branch. "Enough _talking_ - ugh. I'm not strong enough to kill you." Anko notes, mostly to herself, "I might never be. But Naruto is."

"What – I can't talk but you can? Double standard. Let's start this up another time, dear. Another less rude time." Orochimaru croons and sinks slowly into the branch beneath her feet.

"Naruto. Kill her dead."

Orochimaru sinks to her knees before Naruto is on her. A hand around her neck yanks her out and cracks her back through the tree in a fluid movement, afterwards hurling her down through the freefalling branch to finally crumple into a pain shaped divot.

Orochimaru makes a gurgling sort of laugh and sits up in her hole, skeleton solidifying and popping back into place. "I really was right. So right. A shame though that you weren't mine." A wistful sigh follows.

Naruto hops down as the tree itself finally falls. Anko frowns and calls out "Naruto! Keep killing him – I mean her!"

Naruto drops on Orochimaru hard enough to squish a hole through her chest. A hand rears back, crackling like fire as it screeches forth, smashing her down and kicking up the ground. Something flies from the dust, slopping over to finally rest. Orochimaru's head, eyes closed mouth open before a red cannonball blasts it to ash.

Anko whoops and hollers for a moment. She stops because Orochimaru's fingers rise up through the low cloud of dirt in an all too familiar sign and suddenly her neck is on fire. Naruto is there to catch her when she falls but Orochimaru is there too, noticeably sticky head a-smiling and that is not okay.

"I'm betting you forgot about this, Anko." Orochimaru gurgles as she staggers over, black ichor dribbling down her slowly forming chin. "You always were forgetful, but to think that you forget my only and most precious gift. For shame, my dear. Shame… Alright, I forgot too, to be honest. Good thing I remembered though, right?"

Anko wheezes out a swear and immediately curls down with a hoarse whine.

"None of that ruffian talk for you, little Anko." She mollifies, pouring just a bit more chakra into her slowly less and less broken fingers. "I know I taught you better than that."

Anko has just enough strength to flash a finger. Then she has just enough to groan. Naruto holds her steady, expression pained.

"Aww, you see how much she loves you?" Orochimaru smiles and crouches down next to her, legs cracking like twigs underfoot. "This, right here, was what I wanted… For me, that is... For me." She reaches out and pats Naruto's head and the girl doesn't notice. "Complete devotion. I'm betting she obeys you without question. She wants what you want. She lives for you. Oh I was so right. A shame you got to her first. Such a waste of talent."

Orochimaru drops the sign and Anko bursts to life, gasping a deep breath with shaking shoulders. Orochimaru clucks her tongue and brushes an errant lock of hair behind Anko's ear and Anko is too weak to brush off her hand. But she can still squint.

"Oh I know, Anko dear. You despise me. But aren't you curious?"

Anko tries her best to frown.

"Always 'I'll kill you,' never 'Orochimaru, what did you do to Naruto?'"

Anko frowns.

"I know you don't care, but this is too delicious. Ready?"

Anko frowns harder.

"Seriously, are you ready? You're just gonna' _freak_."

Anko frowns too hard and pulls a muscle.

"I cut off her head."

Anko's mouth opens.

Orochimaru grins with an air of self-satisfaction. "Well more accurately, I cut out her brain. See, my little Anko, Naruto here used to be an adorable little girl. Much like you."

Naruto spares Orochimaru a glance and quickly turns back to tending to Anko.

"However, unlike you, Naruto had an adorable little monster in her. And you know how I can be. Captain stickyfingers, here. But no matter how much I poked it, it didn't want to play nice."

If Anko could sigh, she would.

"Naruto also had adorable little organs. Organs it turns out I couldn't use, but that regrew like magic. Regrew into brand new organs, not gross old organs – eww."

Anko tries to sigh.

"Naruto was also very rude, much like you. All '_let me go_!' this and '_oh-my-god-Aaaaaah! Aaah ohmygodwhyyyy_!' that. And that got me thinking, how can I make her prim and proper? Of course, I thought. Remove her brain and there'll be a fancy new brain. Nice and blank, ripe for the washing."

"Ouquable…"

"Don't talk, Anko, you sound ridiculous. Anyway. I pop open her head, take out her brain, and – funny story – turns out those new fancy organs were actually just for show. Next thing I know I'm in twelve places. And then you show up at just the right moment, she reboots and you are her everything. You live, she lives. She obeys you. She wants to obey you. Complete devotion. And..."

Orochimaru pulls a kunai and holds it to Anko's neck. "Unfortunately… You die. And she dies… As you've no doubt noticed by now, this devotion also comes with horrendous tunnel vision and attachment issues... Huh, I guess we can do this now after all."

Naruto looks at the blade and frowns.

"My apologies, dear Anko. But I can't have Naruto running around underfoot, you understand don't you?"

A single speck of blood draws beneath the blade and a burning red fist blisters into her chest, Orochimaru crunching around it like bone-filled elastic and squirting black and fleshy pink out her mouth. Then the red explodes and she is flying, bludgeoning back through the forest, through tree after tree, out of the forest and high into the clouds, and plummeting down and down and finally crashing into the dirt miles away.

Naruto turns back to Anko and eases her up, head resting on her hand as the woman blinks away a few vestiges of pain and grins up fondly. Naruto smiles down and pulls her close.

"I bet that hurt like a bitch."

Anko and Naruto turn their heads to find Kiba standing there, peering into the distance.

"… You're still here?" Anko wheezes after a long moment of gathering strength, barely above a whisper. "Forgot all about you…"

"I know." Kiba replies. "I just sort of faded back – figured you three had your own thing going on, didn't want to interrupt or anything."

Naruto holds Anko closer. "… Go away."

"Sorry I'm late." Kakashi says as he wanders out of the brush. "Forgot what I was supposed to do. And then I got real angry, because I was confused. So then I went home, had some tea. Took a nap. Walked by the park, smelled the flowers, remembered I was supposed to do something… And then it's now." He smiles as if all is right with the world. "What I miss?"

Kiba snorts and Anko really, really doesn't. "You were… Supposed to bring… Backup… _Stupid_."

"…Oh…" Kakashi mutters, wholly unashamed. "Well… I brought tea." He holds out an empty mug. "I drank yours."

Anko chuckles weakly. "I hate you so much."

-0-

"This is why I can't have nice things, Kiba."

"That doesn't make any sense." Sasuke complains half-assedly. The mixed name goes unmentioned. "Some woman named Orochimaru bit me. That's what happened."

Kakashi glances over and finally understands why his student is following him. He covertly heads for the dungeon for sealing instead of the break room for waffles. Unfortunately Kakashi's only option for a rebuttal is to claim that Kiba is a 'nice thing.' He realizes this and ignores the boy instead.

"… So where are we going?" Sasuke asks, a little concerned.

"The dungeons. So I can do things to your neck." Kakashi fishes through his pockets and hands the boy a ball-gag. "So you can't scream."

-0-

The water drips, drips, and Anko eases back against the bath with a long pent sigh. Her shoulder had stung still, wrought with a steady pulsing that had yet to fade even with topical application of sweets and alcohol, not even internal digestion of said sweets and alcohol helped, and she had feared, back then, that all was lost. But then Anko had warmed a bath _and_ gotten drunk and full of sweets.

Her head lulls back, hair slick with a long-past dunk falling back over the curved rim.

Naruto eases in, resting her head on Anko's chest, eyelashes barely sending shivers through the woman's collarbone. Her arms wrap Anko's back, head just barely above the water.

"Naruto…" Anko mutters softly, letting out a slow breath and tension evaporating like so much steam and silky soft skin. "Next time… If I'm hurt, I want you to focus on what's hurting me… Instead of _me_ me..."

The girl nuzzles and Anko pats her head… and that pat turns to a caress, and that caress trails down to the curve of her back where it settles. And maybe her hips quirk up – just a bit – because she's drunk and full and nothing has felt so good. All of her sensei's old smiles – hollow approval as they were lit up the sky in her youth, but they pale now, shrivel up as the leaves of a dead tree.

"Hm." Naruto hums, and Anko can feel the sound in her chest. She fishes around outside the bath and pulls back with a half-empty bottle of mystery Hyuuga saké and takes a sip. And decides that she would rather stay slightly sober and enjoy this soft little thing curled up against her. The bottle clatters down and another fond caress trails down to rest on Naruto's back, and she smiles. The thing small and intoxicated but when Naruto glances up in that second it is more than enough.

Anko chuckles as Naruto beams. "It'll work out better in the long run, trust me." She assures the girl unnecessarily.

Naruto blinks and nods and rests her head back down, arms holding tighter and Anko holds her back. Anko remembers the forest. her old sensei's ramblings. She wonders what Naruto thinks. If she thinks. How she keeps her skin so soft. Her right hand trails up absently, over the curve of Naruto's spine, up her side to rest on her shoulder protectively.

"Naruto…" Anko muses softly, eyes drifting closes and head easing back once again. "I'm crazy tired… Make sure I don't drown…"

Naruto holds her tighter.

-0-

"Let's see… this goes… Here?" Kakashi mutters, drawing a hesitant line and immediately scrubbing it off with Sasuke's shirt. "No. Here maybe?"

"You don't know what you're doing, do you." Sasuke says, less a question and more a plea for help to anyone watching the surveillance monitor attached to the camera in the far corner of the ceiling.

"Quiet Kiba." Kakashi shushes him. "I need silence. Now let me work… let's see… Maybe a swirly here… And an 'X' here… And some kickass flames, here, here… and… _here_." He straightens up and claps his hands together mildly. "And we're done."

Sasuke glances down at the horrible tattoo his shoulder had become. "I am lacking confidence in your abilities."

"Oh nonsense." Kakashi flaps a hand dismissively. "Ready?"

"N-"

"Onetwothreego!" Kakashi flashes through a few random seals and socks him in the shoulder.

-0-

"Akamaru! Akamaru where are you, boy!"

"Kiba, they're waiting for you." Sakura chides and he frowns over at her.

"I'm not fighting without Akamaru." He turns and shrieks "Akamaru! A-ka-_ma_-ruuuuuu! Arablarabaruuu!"

"Now you're just being stupid."

"Last call for Inuzuka Kiba!" the slowly dying proctor calls out harshly, staring right at the boy. "Last call! As in, this is the last time I will say this before you are disqualified!"

"A-bra-ka-_mah_-ruuuuu!"

"Alright. You called my bluff." The proctor admits and coughs into his stylish neckerchief for a moment. "I can't disqualify you. But please hurry up… I don't have a lot of time left."

Kiba falls to his knees, looks to the ceiling and bellows "Akamaaaaruuuuuu!" Sakura snaps and punts him over the railing into the arena. His opponent, an impatient looking rain-nin, snickers a bit and plays it off as a cough.

"Oh- uh." The proctor takes his chance. "Onetwothree_go_!" And hops back to lean against the wall.

"Hm?" Kiba grunts as he rises and brushes himself off. He glances to his opponent who had at some point pulled an umbrella and was spinning it. He doesn't know why. "Oh, we start? Look, dude. My best friend's sort of missing in action right now, you mind if I shout for him for a bit?"

The Rain-nin sighs, thumps his umbrella down and leans on it. "Knock yourself out… I guess."

-0-

"Ooohmyyygoooood! _Putmeoutputmeout_!"

"Maa…"

-0-

"Akamaru!" Kiba shrieks at the very top of his lungs. "Arakamaruuuu!"

"Hey, kid." The rain-nin says, "I'm getting a little antsy, here."

"A-ka-mara-_bara_-_kara-bluuuu_!"

"Now you're just spouting gibberish – look, can we just start this thing?

Kiba sags his shoulders and sighs. "I guess s-" He stops because a muffled bark echoes through the arena. His eyes go wide and he glances around shiftily. "Akamaru? You here, boy?" He forgoes things like tact and dignity and shrieks "Where are you, boy!"

_Arf… arf arf…_

Kiba glances over at the rain-nin, about to ask him to help look, but instead finds him just standing there, looking oddly stiff.

"… Abrakamaru?"

His mouth opens. No words from his lips, only a dry crackling like an open fire. Then he spews blood. dribbling down his chin, down to twitching fingers. His shoulders arc back and Akamaru explodes out of the Rain-nin's chest, showing the arena with gobbets of meat.

Sakura shrieks like a wounded bat and passes out. A sand genin smiles eerily and a few others offer up some choice expletives.

"Wow. Really?"

"What the _fuck_ did I just see."

"What's happening! _What's_! _Happening_!"

Kiba glances over at the proctor. "Do I win?"

-0-

"Live and learn." Kakashi assures the slightly crispy boy as he goes about his sealing business. "Live-va. And. Learn-na."

"I don't like you."

"Hey. Hey. Hey… _Rude_." Kakashi declares, sounding hurt. Then he squints and petulantly scribbles in tiny penises wherever they can fit. "Alright, should work this time."

Sasuke harrumphs. "Damn well bett-"

"Onetwothree_Go_!" Kakashi flashes though a few random hand signs and slaps the boy on the back.

-0-

"Who'sagoodboy! Who'sagoodboy! _Whozagoodboy_! You are!" Kiba croons to a blood-soaked and happily tail-wagging Akamaru, "You are! That's right! Yes you are! _Yyyyes you are_!"

"What can I even say." Sakura mutters, still a little woozy. "Don't let him near me ever again, Kiba."

"Who's daddy's little magic dog!"

_arf_?

"That's right! _You_ are!"

"Ugh."

-0-

"I can't believe that worked." Kakashi muses, looking down at his unconscious student. "Heh, that thing's permanent now… Fun…"

"What have we here?"

Kakashi startles violently and hurls a few kunai, a paper bomb, and Sasuke's unconscious form at the voice. Orochimaru, the voice's owner, dodges the projectiles by standing there calmly and letting the man's horrendous aim do the work.

"Oh." Kakashi notes and throws a few more kunai absently. "Orochimaru, that you?"

"Surprised you recognized me." Orochimaru replies. "Just checking up on Sasuke."

"… Ah." Kakashi says and scratches his neck. "… So… That all?"

"Yes." She says, still a little woozy from Naruto's punch.

"… Cause, I mean… He's right there." Kakashi gestures to the boy. "You could take him. No problem."

"Uh… No." She says, confused. "Just checking up on him. The curse seal has an absolutely horrendous mortality rate –just making sure my investment pays off." Her hesitant frown turns sinister. "He will come to me on his own, soon enough."

"…That's so inefficient, though." Kakashi says. "I mean… He's right there. You could just take him now, save yourself the trouble."

"No." Orochimaru says and chuckles for a moment, fading back into the darkness.

"Please?" Kakashi calls out softly, but no one answers him. His shoulders sag and he sighs out a bit of his happiness. "… Don't leave me here with him…"

-0-

Sakura and Ino rear back and knock each other out cold. The medics promptly swarm onto the scene as the slightly deader proctor calls "double knockout."

A gigantic medic approaches Ino's body and kneels down, pressing two fingers to the hollow of her throat. "Oh good lord!" He suddenly shrieks in a display of total unprofessionalism. "I'm not getting a pulse! Quickly, Nurse! We need to operate! Hand me the nipple clamps!"

"Nipple clamps." The nurse confirms quickly, pulling the item from a satchel and passing it over.

"Don't you die on me!" He bellows, fiercely tweaking her nipples through her clothes. "don't you _dare_ die on me! Oh – it's no good! Nurse! The chocolate sauce, stat!"

"Chocolate sauce." She confirms and hands it over.

"Don't give up!" He shouts, wildly squirting chocolate all over the place, "don't go towards the light! _Don't go towards the light_! Oh no! _Nnnnnoooooooo_! Quickly, Nurse! More nipple clamps!"

"But sir!" She chitters, "the recommended dosage-"

"Goddamn you woman I said _more nipple clamps_!"

"Yes doctor. Nipple clamps." She passes them over.

"Don't you dare die on me! You hear?" He shouts, fiercely tweaking his own nipples for some reason and making a good half of the room cringe, "You're still young, you've got so much ahead of you!"

"Wh – _Ibiki_? What the hell are you doing!" The proctor finally snaps out of his horrified daze. "And _where the hell are my medics_!"

"Nurse, get him out of my O.R.!" The doctor shouts impatiently, pulling a massive paddle from somewhere and going about his business.

"Yes doctor."

"No." The proctor denies. "No. No. _No. _Get out. The both of you, get the _hell_ out."

"Get him out of my O.R.!" The doctor shrieks again.

The proctor inflates, ready to literally kick them from the arena when he doubles over in a coughing fit.

"Oh good lord!" Ibiki in a tiny doctor's uniform roars, throwing his hands up in blind rage, "we got another one! Nurse! Twenty feet of rope, stat!"

"Rope."

He takes the rope. "Don't you die on me!" He hollers, tying up the proctor who ineffectually beats him off with a few choice backhands. "Don't you _dare_ die on me!"

"Take it off!" A genin bellows from the stairs.

-0-

"Congratulations to those of you who passed." The proctor says with all the sober professionalism of a sales clerk, "You move on to the final test. In a month or so we'll have a battle-royall type thing, it'll be super sweet."

He holds out a box and shakes it, expression noticeably disgruntled. "Take your damn numbers."

Each genin steps up in turn to claim a number and is momentarily overcome by childlike wonder, shouting out their number and promptly feeling foolish. Except for Kiba.

"You're number 17." The proctor says.

"What." Kiba replies, hand hovering just over the box.

"Kakashi called in a favor. You're number 17."

"But…" Kiba mutters, "…there aren't even that many people here."

The proctor sniffs. "He was very specific that you be number 17. Next person!"

"Alright whatever."

The rest of the people get their numbers and line up on cue. "Alright," the proctor calls out bitterly, "look up in wonder at this marvel of modern technology. This will tell you who you fight and in what order, so pay attention… Oh wait… No, nevermind. It's like, one fights two, and three fights four and so on. Got it?"

Kiba raises his hand.

"Good. I need to go wash away the shame." He leaves.

**Chapter 8: **

[=Present=]

"Cool." Shikamaru notes, stopping and eyeing the jounin before him. The assortment of other genin pause as they catch up and eye the man too.

Kakashi seemingly notices them for the first time and offers up a weak wave. "Yo."

"… Right." Shikamaru mutters slowly, he tries to remember what he can of the man... Nothing at all. "Look, we're after Sasuke right now, our opponents are way over our heads and we could use some assistance."

"That so…" Kakashi muses absently, stashing his orange book in his vest and shoving his hands in his pockets, posture clearly indicating how little of a shit he gives. "… That so…"

"Uh – yeah." Ino contributes hesitantly. "We could use some help. You're Sasuke's Jounin-Sensei right?"

"Indeed I am…"

Shikamaru doesn't like his oddly ominous tone. "You know what, nevermind. The village needs all the elite we can spare right now."

"… That so…"

Shikamaru notes that the man makes no sense. "Yeah. So, we're just gonna' go on, see if we can catch up to him," he says, gesturing vaguely in the hopes that the man would lose interest in their probably imminent demise, "maybe stop him. You should go help the village."

Shikamaru moves to pass him but stops as the man pulls his hands from his pockets and is suddenly every bit the elite jounin he is supposed to be.

"… I'm afraid I can't let you do that."

[=The somewhat distant past=]

"The finals are in a month." Kakashi instructs his team loftily, their expressions illustrating to any passerby's that they were clearly there against their will. Especially Sakura. "You have some dangerous opponents, and it will take every bit of skill and finesse for you to survive, let alone win. Especially you, Sasuke." He says, his team lowering their formerly high expectations back down as the man once again chews on Kiba's pride.

"It is with this in mind that I have decided to train you all for your matches. It will hurt, and you will hate me. But you will win… Except for you, Sasuke."

"Um.. Sensei?" Sakura mumbles timidly, scuffing her foot on the dirt, "I don't actually have a match, so…"

"Hm?" The man grunts, seemingly noticing her there for the first time. His eye sort of lights up a bit. "Oh, Sakura. What are you doing here?"

"You told me to be here." She replies tightly.

"… Did I?" He wonders aloud. "Hm. This bears investigation. Quickly, find my set of magnifying glasses, there's mystery afoot!"

"Nn." Sakura recognizes the slightly patronizing dismissal and quickly leaves. Kakashi seamlessly turns to his remaining members.

"Both of you, wait here. I'm going to go get some training weights from someone."

-0-

"So you just left them there?"

"Yep." Kakashi says plainly and takes a sip from his glass of something, then clacks it down on the bar with a relieved sigh.

"… Why even do all that?" Anko wonders aloud, taking a bite from her skewer of dango and chewing contemplatively. "You could'a just ignored them like you usually do… Less work that way."

"Well… I dunno." Kakashi takes another sip. "I guess I was just bored."

"…Oh." Anko offers her dango to Naruto, the girl sitting on the barstool next to her. She takes a bite and Anko leans in and impulsively licks the bit of sugar syrup that dribbles down her chin. A Mist Jounin walks in, takes one look at a slightly flushed Naruto, keels over and crab-walks out slowly.

"… Oh, wait." Kakashi suddenly starts back up again, straightening in his barstool and snapping out a few kinks in his spine. "I found out that pass or fail they're still on my roster. So then I was like... How do I make that not happen?"

"… And?" Anko ventures indulgently over her glass of something sour.

"And then I was like… Oh. Wait." He mutters, scratching his head and trying to remember what he can of his motivation through a haze of laziness and apathy. "No. No, never mind. I guess I _was_ just bored." He takes a sip from his drink and nods assuredly. "Yep. Just bored."

Anko clinks their glasses together lazily. "The hell do I even say to that." she mutters, then smacking her lips and shrugging. "…I dunno. Congrats?"

Kakashi tilts his chin down for a moment. Then he belches. "Thanks."

Anko snorts and takes another sip from her drink. "It is kinda' funny I guess… 'Least when it's not happenin' to me… Think they're still waiting?"

"…Eh." Kakashi shrugs and takes a glug of someone's glass, he isn't too sure whose. "Probably not."

-0-

"Say, Superstar…"

Sasuke doesn't even care anymore. "Hn."

Kiba smacks his lips and takes a breath through his nose. "He's not comin' back is he."

"…No. I'd guess… Probably not."

Kiba nods for a bit. "You know, the two of us together… We could kill him."

-0-

Kakashi yawns and takes another sip of someone's drink. "Actually… I don't care…"

-0-

"… Hn."

-0-

"Or _do I_?" Kakashi muses to himself, taking a bite of someone's dango absently. Then he belches. "Oh – _nope_. No, just a burp." He chortles to himself for a bit then burps again. "Oh – wow I care even less now… Huh…"

"… You're kind of a dick, Kakashi." Anko informs him.

He crinkles his eye. "Endearing sonnovabitch ain't I."

He raises someone's glass for a toast and Anko clacks hers on it indulgently. "You do grow on people." She admits brightly. "Like a fungus, or a venereal disease capable of hate."

"I'll drink to hate." Kakashi downs someone's glass and cracks it down on the counter. Then he tilts his head as if realizing something for the first time. "I should go before whoever's drink this was comes back."

Anko waves a hand over her shoulder as the man wanders out aimlessly. Then she glances over at Naruto who was formerly preoccupied with stacking coasters. "… I feel like I'm forgetting something."

Naruto blinks and offers her a coaster. Anko takes it and eyes the design on the front. "Cardboard… Condensation shield…Coaster... Coaster?… Coasting!" She shouts abruptly, banging her fist on the counter and startling the man two seats across half to death. "Wait nevermind - that's just nonsense… Maybe I owe someone money?"

"What happened to my drink?" A voice interjects, and Anko cranes her head back to look up at a decidedly unamused Kurenai, the woman crossing her arms under her chest and acting like that didn't make half the bar stare at her cleavage.

Anko snaps her fingers and sits straight. "That's right, I'm here with Kurenai." Then she tilts her head back again. "About your drink: Kakashi was here."

Kurenai raises a brow.

"You really shouldn't need me to elaborate on that."

Kurenai huffs and takes her barstool, then pouts at her empty glass. "Easy come easy go, I guess."

Anko shrugs and slides her half empty mug of something bubbly over, Kurenai grimaces but takes a sip anyway.

"Remind me, what am I doing here again?"

The woman shoots a flat look over at her. "You're here with me and Asuma, remember?"

"Oh…_Oooh_, right, right. Why?"

"I don't know." Kurenai mutters over Anko's drink, noting from the corner of her vision that Asuma's drink was empty too. She doesn't see Anko's eyes lighting up ominously, or her chambering a punch. "Something about-"

"Baby check!"

-0-

"I… What?"

"I said okay." Sasuke reiterates plainly. "After my fight I'll go with you to Orochimaru or… _whoever_ it is."

"…Oh." Kabuto then '_huh_'s, sounding mildly surprised. "Just like that? I mean, you don't even – Orochimaru is the one who bit you, you know?"

"I know."

"Aaaand you're okay with that?"

"Have you met Kakashi? If I didn't know he'd somehow stop me through some lazy miracle I'd kill him in his sleep."

"But…" Kabuto replies, barely realizing that he is now doing the opposite of his assignment, "you're just going to trade him off? You don't even know what we want yet."

"Nope."

"Or if we'll even train you."

"True."

"You literally know nothing about our intentions."

"Indeed."

"I… Okay then… We'll find you after your fight, be ready… I guess…"

"Cool."

Kabuto half shrugs walks out.

-0-

"Do you have any idea how _irresponsible_ that was!"

"Talking to me about _irresponsible_!" Anko raves as Kurenai clutches at her stomach again and a newly arrived Asuma frowns, "I was saving the world from the horrifying mutant offspring that would have been! _You're _the irresponsible one here – doin' the – the – uh… _Damnit! _The penis-vagina with _this_ guy!" She jabs a finger at Asuma, who grimaces in response but doesn't say anything.

"We're not doing anything." Kurenai readily admits and Asuma deflates just a bit but keeps on being somewhat imposing. "and even if we were, which we aren't, it wouldn't be any of your business… And the word is 'sex' – how could you not know the word 'sex.'"

Anko cringes at the word 'sex' both times. "Ugh – don't call it that, this is hard enough already… And stop _frowning_, Asuma, I don't even give a shit about you. Also you're not impressing anyone, you or your ridiculous mutton-chops."

"Is this why you invited us?" Kurenai half-threatens but pulls it back as Naruto catches her eye over Anko's shoulder, "to punch me in the stomach? Was that all you had planned?"

"I don't know." Anko says, for some reason feeling bored with the situation, "I've been sort of drifty today, might've had something else going on… Eh… Also your side-burnie thingies are ridiculous, _Asuma_. _You_… Uh…" She squints. "Wait… What's happening?"

Kurenai sort of glowers at her and Anko feels a yawn coming on. She makes a mental note to take a nap and forgets almost immediately. "Honestly, I have no idea." The woman says.

Anko yawns. "Why are we at a bar?"

"You _invited_ _us_."

"… Us?" Anko inquires, less a question and more an expression of indignant disbelief directed at the word itself, then she glances over her shoulder and makes an affirmative noise at a half-grimacing Asuma. "Oh… _Oh _that's right, that's right…" Then she recoils at something, moving to glance back and forth between Asuma and Kurenai sharply.

Kurenai only barely blocks the shot to her crotch; nearly falling from the barstool but for Asuma's steadying hand. "Damnit Anko!"

"Don't get mad at _me_! You're the one doin' the – the… _Fuck!" _Anko opens and closes her mouth and silently gestures for a bit, then jabs a finger at a resigned looking Asuma. "This guy!"

"What could you possibly have against Asuma?"

Anko rears back in preparation for a verbal lashing, pointer finger cocked and ready for emphasizing. A quick moment passes and Anko realizes she has forgotten the question, promptly slamming her hands down on the bar. Then she works her jaw and gestures for a bit.

Finally she sighs. "You know what I'm really drawing a blank here. Don't know what's up with my head today, I'm actually a little concerned."

"… We're going, Anko." Kurenai says, and starts out of the bar. Asuma trails after her and Anko just waves absently.

-0-

Kakashi's spoonful of cereal is halfway to his mouth when his door implodes. He turns and reflexively yawns at the sight of Ibiki clunking in through his doorway, looking a peculiar mix of curious and white-hot rage.

Their eyes meet.

"Yo Ibiki." Kakashi says, noting to himself that he would need yet another door.

Ibiki flares his nostrils in a way that suggests that that particular nose-flare was in fact a horrendous curse in some alien language composed entirely of varying nose flares that only Ibiki knew. Kakashi really tries not to but he yawns again.

"Kakashi." The man says, "you'll never guess where I've been."

"Oh you can read me like a book, Ibiki." Kakashi chortles into his hand but cuts off for yet another yawn. He's a little worried that something is horribly wrong with him.

"I was in isolation." Ibiki replies as though Kakashi had guessed wrong or at all. "For the few days it took to detox, at least." He claps out his hands mildly. "And then I was here. Looking at a dead man."

-0-

"What!" Anko squawks and slams a fist down on Sarutobi's desk. Naruto blinks and eyes her own fist, then slowly rests it down next to Anko's.

Sarutobi hands Naruto a distraction-lollypop and tries not to look amused. "You heard me perfectly well, Anko. I'm sure you know of the upcoming… _Invasion_, I suppose is the word."

"Yeah, yeah, I got the damn note!" She grinds, "But I don't wanna-"

"Wanna?" Sarutobi tastes the word for a bit, "wanna? What is this mystery word you're saying - my feeble old-man brain cannot possibly comprehend it."

"Wha – I"

"In case you don't get it, I am expressing disbelief at your preconception that your 'want' has any relevance in this situation."

"Well _yeah _I think I got that much, but-"

"_But? _What on earth is that? A type of food? All this hip lingo is giving me gas."

"Why are you being so _bitchy_!"

"My back hurts! I can never find anything! Oh, wait a minute - we're being _invaded_!" He snaps, slamming a fist on his desk and trying not to wince. He notes that his bones are far more brittle than they used to be. "I want you and Naruto, mostly Naruto, proctoring because I want my _strongest_ where we're going to be hit hardest, understand? This isn't just to personally inconvenience you, Anko. There _is_ a reason."

Anko sighs. "Yeah I _know_ there's a reason, but-"

"Also the previous proctor died."

"Okay, _two_ reasons – fucking a' - but I was _gonna_ sleep in, and then go have the Hyuuga make me lunch, and then Naruto was gonna do a sensual massage thing and then we were gonna watch the kiddles fight to the death for our amusement and throw _popcorn_ at them. I had the _whole_ day planned out." She crosses her arms over her chest. "You soiled my plans, old man... Right in front of Naruto." She squints. "You owe me a day off."

"Anko," the man replies immediately, "you haven't had a single day of work in over three months."

Anko snorts. "Heh, yeah… Still, though."

"Anko, you realize that, as a special-jounin, you _choose_ what – if any - missions you take, right? My giving you a day off is literally inconsequential."

"Yeah, I know."

Sarutobi wonders what he has done to deserve Anko. "…You can have tomorrow off."

"Cool. See ya' old man!" She leaps from the formerly unbroken window and Naruto patters after her.

-0-

Naruto eased down, another bottle of celebratory sake in her hands. Anko loops an arm around her and holds her current bottle high in victory.

"To my day off!" She crows for just about no reason.

Naruto giggles and scoots closer, smiling for no more reason than because Anko was smiling. Anko, for her part, doesn't think much of the airy, contented expression on Naruto's lips, and nuzzles down into the girls head after a moment of basking in the freedom. Then things get a little blurry, Anko remembers another bottle of sake… then she is kissing Naruto, deep and soft, running her hands over hips, the slope of her neck and holding her close; tasting something sweet like sugar syrup.

Then something moans, a high pitched '_aaahn'_ of a noise, then more of those, more and more, and something sweet again…

And then…

Anko snorts awake and closes her eyes tight as she can as the unholy light streams through her apparently broken windows. A minute, or maybe a few hours later, Anko creaks her eyes open enough to see, and looks down at the soft weight on her chest. She finds Naruto there, curled into her and flushed, a dreamy smile on her lips… Also naked and sticky.

Anko smacks her lips. "… Well then… I raped Naruto…"

"Wait a minute…" She says a moment later. "I raped Naruto?"

-0-

"I raped Naruto!"

Kakashi stumbles back as though struck by a physical blow, cracking his head on his low-hanging ceiling fan and keeling over bonelessly. Then he starts weeping onto the carpet.

Anko gestures at him vaguely and Kakashi waves her off, wiping at his tears by stretching his face mask to his eye. "I'm just so _happy_." He justifies thickly. Then he breaks down into undignified sobs. "So haa-haa-_peeee_… Also fucking _ouch_…"

"This is serious!" Anko growls and wrings out her hands, "I totally raped Naruto! Like, just last night! I still can't get her off me!" Anko gestures to the sloppily clothed Naruto hanging around her neck. "She's crazy friggen' strong!"

"Ma – may – maybe if- if you…" Kakashi replies, thoroughly choked up, "if you ki – issed her again s – she'd let go? And seriously, my head – I think I'm bleeding."

"_Why_ did I come here again…" Anko muses to herself, feeling somehow cheated, "Kakashi, I appreciate appropriately timed sex jokes as much as the next - but I could use an actual game plan here. You totally owe me."

"I don't s – see a problemmmm-yep, blood. There's blood on my carpet."

"Kakashi…" She sighs. "How do I put this… Naruto, is like the kid the Old Guy never had, you know, 'cause of his oldness. And he _may_ have trusted me with Naruto so this _exact_ situation wouldn't happen. So… Hey - you getting this?"

"Y – y – y – yeeah."

"Oh for shit's sake Kakashi, stop _crying_. You're like an enormous girl, only-"

"O – only I h-h-have a p – penis?"

"Damnit you beat me to it. But seriously though, I need a plan. Cause-"

"'C - cause of the rape."

"Well – I - cause of she's _crazy strong_, and I can't get her off. And al-"

Kakashi snorts.

"And _also_, well, yes."

"… Hmm." Kakashi muses, then stands and wanders around for a bit, briefly forgetting what he is doing and making himself a cup of tea, then he remembers and starts pacing. But then he gets tired and sits down on the couch.

"This might sound weird," Kakashi abruptly steeples his fingers on his coffee table, "but keep with me."

-0-

"So then we're standing there, right. Owl's like, _dead_ or something I don't know, I'm not a doctor. And I mean, _logically_ – you know what, screw it, whatever." Anko sighs and nurses her bottle for a bit. "So we're looting him, right? And then he just _violently _wakes up – And then - I thought I did what anyone would do!"

"Hmm." Kakashi muses for a moment and tries to remember what he knows about Anko. "So you stabbed him, then?"

"In the leg." Anko confirms and takes another sip. "All the way to the bone. So he's screaming, right? And I'm like, okay, _loud._ And then he starts flailing and I guess he scared Naruto 'cause then she strait up punts him through the wall, it was awesome – we got drunk and started a victory fire. So I mean - we're fixing the wall - and then just the next night, I wake up and he's just rifling through my shit. Just plain _rude_ is what it is."

"You know Owl just wants his sword back, right? It's like an heirloom or something." Kakashi suspects that he is drifting in and out of the conversation.

"Obviously." She did not. "_Dumbass_. So then we're just stomping the shit out of him, right? But then - outa' _nowhere, _a – just, a _hawk_ just flies through – a freaking _hawk._ So then we're stomping the shit out of this punk ass hawk, right?"

Kakashi yawns.

"And th – w – damnit Kakashi!" Anko takes an angry sip from her bottle. "The plan! What about the plan!"

Kakashi yawns again. "What plan?"

"The 'I raped Naruto' one." Anko gestures to Naruto, still wrapped around her neck.

"Oh. Yeah. I'm – I don't really see why you need a plan." Kakashi yawns into his drink. "Couldn't you just _not tell_ the old guy?"

Anko opens and closes her mouth. "I'm dumb."

"I guess there's still the 'getting her off' part, though."

Anko snorts.

Kakashi snorts and then yawns. "I'm scared, Anko."

"Yeah though." Anko starts. "I'm – she really is crazy strong. I've tried like, _two_ things and neither of them worked. I mean – I'd try some more, but it's – have you seen Naruto? Short run this is really nice."

"Hmm…" Kakashi hums appreciatively then strokes his face mask. "Stay with me here, but… Have you tried _molesting_ her?" Kakashi suggests pragmatically, and holds out his hands palms up with an inquiring '_hmm_?' sort of noise, "It made her cling, it makes sense that it can make her uncling."

"Okay." Anko takes another sip from her nearly empty bottle. "While that idea is clearly retarded, you might have a point."

"Yes." Kakashi agrees, and nods for a bit. And then he says something stupid. "Wait… You sure she's not just asleep?"

[Finals]

"Kibaaaaa!" Anko roars at the contestant section, "this is your first and _last_ call! Get down here, now!"

"But… I – aren't I number seventeen?" Kiba shouts back, "doesn't that mean last? Or… Never?"

"Are you backtalkin' me boy? I _will_ come up there!"

"Geesh, fine. I'm going." Kiba ambles down the stairs, thoroughly confused, to finally stand to the left of the annoyed-on-principle proctor, and Naruto, who was holding a bag of popcorn and a bottle.

"I'm here, so…" Kiba trails off, looking around the empty arena, "I mean… who do-"

"Begin!" Anko projects, still in shouting mode. Then she takes a handful of popcorn and shoves it in her face.

"What – what do you mean begin? I-" Kiba checks the arena again to be sure, "I'm the only one here, how is this gonna' work?"

"You're not here to talk." Anko gargles as if in response, "start fighting or you're disqualified – on grounds of being boring to look at."

"I… But there's no one here?" Kiba gestures at the lack of a person across from him. "What exactly am I supposed to do?"

"Oh boooooooo! BOOOOOOOOO!" Anko crows, and hurls a handful of popcorn at him. "No talking! Booooo!"

Kiba brushes a bit of popcorn off his shoulders. "I am seriously so confused right now. Can someone tell me what's going on?"

Anko stares at him blankly, then closes her eyes to slits. "…Get _the_ _hell_ out of my arena."

"What – but I-"

"Naruto. Eject him."

"Fine - I'm goin_urk-_

-0-

Kakashi watches as Kiba rises up in a graceful arc, crashing into the contestant's section a few moments later. He takes in the beauty of what he has just seen. And he weeps.

"No words…" He says thickly, and takes another sip of sake, "so beautiful… no words can describe… should have brought a poet…"

-0-

"Hey – uh – sand… chick! You're up!"

Temari eyes a twitchy Gaara. "I forfeit!"

"Oh boooo! BOOOOOO! No forfeit!"

"I said I fucking forfeit!" she snaps, hands tense on the railing. Gaara look at her again and she shivers. "Start the next match already!"

"Don't tell me what to do!" Anko replies childishly.

"I – _please_ start the next match!"

"I dunno… My feelings are pretty hurt!"

Gaara's eyes become a bit crazier and Temari shudders deep in her spine. "Please," she pleads despite her burning pride, "just start the next match."

Anko sniffs. "Say… That a nice fan you got there."

-0-

Anko unfurls her cool new fan she found and waves it about stupidly. Then she snorts and takes another sip from Naruto's left hand bottle. "Oi – sand… Guy – You're up!"

Kankurou grimaces and notes from the corner of his eyes that Gaara is looking particularly crotchety. "I forfeit!" He pretends that he doesn't shriek for his dignity's sake, but he isn't fooling anyone.

"Oh booooo! BOOOOOOO - no forfeit _BOOOOOOOOO_!"

"I said I fucking _forfeit_ goddamnit! Start the next match already!"

"… That's a cool puppet you got there."

-0-

"Oi – mist… person! You're up!"

The remaining mist ninja eyes Naruto a bit. "I fff… _fffffor…_Fuh… _Forfeit_!"

Anko forgoes all pretenses. "I'm gonna' need that umbrella."

-0-

"And now, the only match that anyone gives a shit about!" Anko proclaims grandly, her voice echoing around the stadium and Sarutobi very slowly releasing a sigh, "that Uchiha kid and the sand… Kid… I wanna' say _Saara_." The lack of response from the audience is disappointing, and Anko blows a wet raspberry as the contestants wander into the arena. She munches another handful of popcorn and glances left and right. Then up, shading her eyes with her hand.

"OnetwothreeGO!"

"Wait wha-" Sasuke starts and looks over at her, only to catch movement in his peripheral and duck a flurry of suspiciously brown shuriken, then shriekingly dodge a cloud of senbon as Anko gets curious and opens her fancy new umbrella.

"Hey what the _f-_" He hurriedly ducks a whipcracking tendril stemming from across the arena, and pulls a kunai from his thigh holster to deflect another few senbon as Anko giggles and continues on twirling her fancy new umbrella, apparently oblivious to her surroundings.

Sasuke leaps back to a hopefully safe distance and shouts down the field "stop fucking throwing needles at me_aah_!" His eyes promptly bug out as he drops flat, ducking a red cannonball by a hairsbreadth, then flinching as the wall behind him explodes a moment later with an earth-rattling boom. Naruto huffs and lowers her hand and Anko ties her fancy new puppet around her neck like a horrifying scarf.

Gaara, slack faced at the sheer amount of damage the little red projectile caused, starts not so covertly eyeing the proctors while Sasuke flounders for words to express the indignant anger he feels.

"What the _actual_ fuck!" Sasuke scuffs his toes in the dirt and spreads his arms wide. "All I did was yell at you and you try to kill me? That sucks! That sucks gigantic sweaty balls!"

Then he flailingly dodges several more shuriken. "And you stop doing that! I am seriously so _pissed_ _off_ right now!"

A handful of buttery popcorn flops down his face, and into his wide collared shirt. "No talking! Boooooo! _BOOOOOOOO!_"

"I quit." Sasuke says, and eats the popcorn in his collar. "I don't even care anymore. We're done here."

Anko fills her lungs to maximum capacity and things go straight to hell.

The sand kid is on the ground, squeezing at his head and stumbling around roaring drunk. Sand drips off like beads of sweat and Sasuke, apparently incapable of sensing dramatic tension, starts towards the stairs. In the stands, a figure stands up, fumbles through a few handseals, then gives up and shrieks:

"Everybody go to _fucking_ _sleep_!"

Then there's a decapitated body flopping down into the arena, and Kakashi standing behind it looking as if he'd just sneezed.

And suddenly, as if directly in response to Kakashi standing there scratching his ass, there are a hell of a lot more sand ninja.

Anko flares her nostrils. "Oh it is _on_!"

-0-

"Oi – Kakashi!"

Kakashi sneezes and somehow decapitates three enemy ninja in the process. "Hm?"

Anko hurls delicious popcorn at a few enemy ninja. "I heard something about one of your genin – I think it was the Uchiha one, he like ran off with some guy or something." She ducks a wild swing and chucks a handful of popcorn at the kunoichi's crotch, then sidesteps a kick and lets Naruto launch her back through the fray with a crackling punch, taking out five enemies, three allies and a two story house in the process. "And then your other ones went after him. I think you're supposed to go after them. Popcorn?"

Kakashi somehow manages to bisect a sound ninja with his mouthful of popcorn. "You think I should?" He wonders aloud, and starts looting a few corpses.

"I dunno," Anko takes another gulp of sake and pockets some guy's wallet. "I mean – I figure this is your only chance to get rid of him, if he gets away, yeah?"

Kakashi gets distracted by something shiny, his attacker lopping off another attacker's head as he bends over. It turns out to be a glass eye, which Kakashi doesn't need. He tosses it over his shoulder and coincidentally chokes an enemy Kunoichi to death. "Yeah I guess so." Kakashi's eye goes wide. "Wait – did you say someone's going after him?"

"Yeah, your other ones and some other kids, don't know which."

Kakashi's eye goes bloodshot and a nearby sand ninja turns on his heels and picks someone else.

[The Present]

"I'm afraid I can't let you do that."

"What." Everyone wonders aloud.

"You see," Kakashi pulls back the collar of his vest and reveals a poorly scribbled curse mark on his neck, "I am being controlled by Orochimaru."

"No you're not." Shikamaru says plainly, and scratches at his neck sympathetically. "Look, can we just get past you? We sort of need to do stuff."

"I'm afraid not." Kakashi mourns, "So… No."

Shikamaru forms a seal with his fingers and promptly shakes out his hands as the end of a kunai cracks all his knuckles. "Did you just throw a _kunai_ at me? _Ow_."

"Can't – can't control myself!" Kakashi grunts and holds his head, "retreat, all of you! I'll hold back as long as I can!"

"Oh my god, yes you can." Ino sounds exasperated if anything. "I can see the marker; it's in your pocket, right there!"

"Don't worry, no matter what - I won't hurt any of you!" Kakashi flashes a reassuring smile and subtly shoves the marker deeper into his vest. "That's the promise of a lifetime!"

"You already threw a kunai at me." Shikamaru continues to massage his wrists.

"Well you were being kind of a dick."

"I'm getting Asuma."

-0-

Anko marks her target with a handful of buttery popcorn. "Get that one!"

Naruto weaves through a few stray projectiles and ejects the enemy from the arena.

Anko hollers "yeah take it _bitch_!" Then trips a nearby sand ninja and starts dumping popcorn and stomping on them. She then blocks a blade with a kunai and kicks the Kunoichi back into Naruto, who at a little gesturing wields the ninja like a bat and hits another one through a nearby wall, then hurls the twitching body at a sound ninja sneaking up behind Anko.

Anko finishes stomping and pockets another wallet. Then spies up on a roof a few blocks away a purple box. And in that box what can only be the old guy and Orochimaru him or herself.

Anko knows exactly what to say.

-0-

"Kakashi, get out of the way."

"Can't." He groans, "can't stop myself. Run, hurry…"

"Kakashi the marker fell out of your vest."

"Orochimaru… Made me do it… Can't stop myself."

Asuma sighs. "I will fight you over this, Kakashi."

"Orochimaru… Making me say things… Can't stop." Kakashi pauses mid-tirade and takes a sip from a bottle he pulls from his thigh-holster. "Can't stop myself."

"Seriously, I'm getting out my knives."

"Orochimaru making me say… Ugh – you're a little bitch, and I - agh – I can beat you any day of the week."

Asuma opens his mouth. "Well you can tell _Orochimaru_ that!- Damnit! Kakashi, seriously, we need to go get that Uchiha kid!"

"Go – _ah_ – go suck a… _dick_… urk."

-0-

"It has been a long time, my old student…" Sarutobi can't keep the regret from his tone and he doesn't bother to try.

"Too long." Orochimaru nods and grins sharply, "I was worried you'd forgotten me – you know, because of your age."

"Oh clever. And age joke." Sarutobi tosses his hat off to the side. "Here while you were gone I'd thought I'd only be missing your horrifying genetic experiments, turns out you're some sort of delightful comedic mastermind, the likes of which the world has never seen. If only I had given you a chance to explain yourself, I could have basked in your wit day and night until my ball sack shriveled up and died from laughter."

Tayuya snorts to herself in the far corner of the shield and Orochimaru chuckles despite himself. "And here _I_ had assumed that time had made you into a crotchety old man that would sooner suck the life from a child's neck then amuse them by jingling your turkey-like jowls, but now I see that I was mistaken, and I can rest assured knowing that your youthful demeanor and wonderful unblemished skin stems not from satanic rituals, but from your glowing and optimistic personality."

Tayuya cackles and nearly drops the shield. "_Yes_."

"Yes, I rather liked it too. How about you, old man?"

"Quite good." Sarutobi says. "I taught you all I know, but it seems that the student has finally become the master."

"Oh you want round two?" Orochimaru wonders aloud and glances around as if for confirmation. "This guy here wants round two? He does? Well, I guess I will have to oblige him."

"Boooo! No talking! Booo! _BOOOOOOO_!"

-0-

**Chapter 9: **

"Skank." Orochimaru cocked his/her head.

"Bitch." Sarutobi replied, and smirked at having one upped the man/woman.

"Slut." The man/woman put heavy emphasis on the 's.'

"_Whore_." Sarutobi put heavy emphasis on everything.

"Seriously." Anko said, and threw the last of her popcorn at the vibrant purple shield, the kernel erupting in an oddly entertaining shower of sparks, "I'm out of popcorn, and you're both really, really boring. Can you just _fight_ each other?"

Orochimaru glanced askance at her, then back at Sarutobi with a 'what can you do' expression. "This is why I left her." He said.

Sarutobi nodded solemnly and turned to her. "Anko, posturing is a tradition far older than myself, it is only right that we exchange the ceremonial pleasantries before battle."

Anko frowned. "See, the problem here is I can't tell if you're joking."

"I would not joke about this." Sarutobi said, eyes dark. Anko threw up her hands, and she and Naruto went to find more things to throw at the shield.

"Alright," Anko explained, "so then we're looking for shit to throw at the shield. And then I'm like _boom_-" she pantomimed, "_Shukaku_. I mean, I didn't think she'd be able to do it but Naruto is like cah-razy freaking strong."

Sarutobi looked at her for a bit all disappointed and stuff, but she didn't care so he just shook his head. "Not okay, Anko. Not okay."

"Sorry I'm late, I donkey punched a prostitute and got _stuck_."

The excuse was said so casually that Sarutobi's bowels clenched. Kakashi then took his seat and had almost enough decency to look ashamed for making them wait.

"You know why you're here." It was a statement, and Sarutobi looked extra grumpy.

Kakashi yawned and scratched his crotch.

Anko looked equal parts annoyed and exasperated if anything. "I already apologized about that block we flattened, you gotta' learn to move on."

Sarutobi glowered at them. Anko held up her hands placatingly and ruined the gesture by mocking him with her face. "You are idiots." Sarutobi said plainly, and Kakashi was mildly surprised with the level of conviction. He did not argue the sentiment. "Especially you, Kakashi."

Kakashi didn't even care a little bit. "Ah." He nodded, enlightened.

"Woah, woah, woah, hey, _hey_." Anko and Naruto defended, paused, then pointed at the man. "Fuck you." They bumped fists under the desk.

"Anko… So many things. I'll get back to you in a bit." The man folded his hands in silent contemplation for a few moments, looking back and forth between the pair, and once at Naruto, who was looking… _satisfied_. Then he gestured to half-inch thick stack of paper. "What would you say this is?"

"…I'm sorry, what?" Kakashi supplied helpfully.

"And you, Anko?"

"A bitter old man." She grouched and crossed her arms.

"This is all the paperwork dealing with the invasion. Simple." He said, and then gestured to another stack of paper next to the first, that one noticeably thicker. "This, however, is paperwork dealing with _just you two._"

Neither Anko nor Kakashi said anything then, Kakashi eased back deeper into his seat and she just sat there, looking bored. Naruto blinked and took the lollipop that Sarutobi abruptly handed her to distract her.

"Kakashi. We'll start with you."

"Okay." He agreed easily.

"First thing's first." Sarutobi looked over something then sighed forlornly. "You groped the Mizukage."

Kakashi perked up. "In my defense, I was trying to loot her."

"The Mizukage is not dead."

"… Semantics."

Sarutobi pursed his lips. "Neither is money traditionally stored in the crack of one's ass."

"Yeah, well…" He offered weakly, sounding disappointed for some reason, "now I know."

"…Moving on. You assaulted… six genin, two jounin, and roughly seventeen leaf civilians, including an eight year old girl."

Kakashi felt more than saw everyone in the room look at him expectantly. "She insulted me."

"You were trying to rob her."

"I _thought_ she was _dead_." The man clarified obviously.

Sarutobi sighed. "…Goddamnit Kakashi."

"She called me a doo-doo head."

"Whatever – this leads onto our next topic: you were seen by roughly half the village, and near all of the foreign diplomats, looting corpses."

Kakashi's sniffed and smacked his lips absently. "People have been kicking in my doors a lot lately. Doors are expensive you know, I'm not made of money… Also it's a miracle no one walked in on me mast-"

"Stop."

"_Masturbating._"

The word was said with such conviction that Sarutobi couldn't properly snap at him. He emptied his hands and clasped them in front of him. "Ignoring all of this, and some other things I haven't mentioned yet, you aided and abetted the defection of Sasuke Uchiha."

"I… Wait, who?"

"Your genin… The Uchiha."

"Oh... _Oh_, the crazy one, right. I mean." Kakashi looked to the left suspiciously. "Uh. No I didn't."

"There were no less than twelve eye witnesses."

"…Ah." Kakashi said, sounding resigned.

"All of which are recovering in the hospital."

"… Yeah."

"Including my son, Asuma."

"In my defense, he was being sort of a dick."

Sarutobi looked at the man for a bit, then shook his head and held out his hands, palms up. "Not okay, Kakashi. _Not_ okay."

"…Heh, c'mon, it's a _little_ funny." Anko said, trying not to smirk, but not very hard, "admit it – without us you'd be bored to death."

"Without you two I'd have a four hour workday." Sarutobi replied straightly. "Sometimes I consider having you assassinated."

"C'moooon, you know you love us." Anko chittered into her hand. "You're just a big ol' softie."

"A squishy Sally." Kakashi added.

"A big, sopping, flaccid co-"

"I mean it." Sarutobi looked like he meant it.

Anko looked off to her left then back. "Oh… Well, if you do, can I kill Kakashi?"

"No. The pleasure will be mine."

"Weak."

"Kakashi," Sarutobi said in an attempt to get back on topic, "how about you see if you can explain what happened without sounding… Treasonous. I suppose is the word."

Kakashi reached for his neck.

"You were not being controlled by Orochimaru." Sarutobi said, then pulled a kunai from somewhere and rested it on the desk.

"Hm." Kakashi replied thoughtfully, "See, what happened was-"

[Kakashi lies: take one]

"Kakashi, get out of the way."

Kakashi pulled his hand back, fingers clenched white at his side. Orochimaru pulled his strings but Kakashi was stronger than most; he fought for control, muscle groups tensing randomly as he resisted movements that could have torn a less attractive man in half.

"Run," Kakashi grunted, lips stretched tight in concentration, "I don't want to hurt anyone – but I can't – can't control myself."

"I need to stop that kid," Asuma said, and pulled his trench knives from his purse, "you won't stop me, no matter how attractive you are." He knit his brows and then spouted compulsively, "Kurenai thinks about you when we have sex."

"I know." Kakashi replied under his breath. His arms felt heavy. The whispers in his mind were sweet, telling him this and that, and why not kill everyone there. "Ah. Sounds reasonable." Kakashi confirmed but caught himself fast, and dropped a second kunai he hadn't consciously pulled.

"Everyone," He called, a bead of sweat running down his temple as he looked at the motley group before him. At Shirimaru, at Roji, at… at Blond-Girl. Then at Kurenai who was running towards them in dark red lingerie, a tattoo of a bored-looking Kakashi gazing out from between her heaving breasts - that she had gotten upon her own insistence, that he might motorboat her to sleep even with miles between them.

The breasts gave him strength. "Run, hurry! I'll hold back as long as I can!"

"I think about you when me and Asuma have sex!" Kurenai proclaimed passionately, and whipped off her top-

"Stop."

"_Take me now, Kakashi_." Kakashi continued, voice as shrill as he could possible make it, "_I'm so moist and_-

"Just stop, Kakashi." Sarutobi sighed. "Just – just tell me _why_."

Kakashi immediately opened his mouth.

"And so help me, if this is just because you don't want a genin team I'll _kill you in your sleep_!"

Kakashi slowly closed his mouth. "… Hm… "

[Kakashi lies: take two]

"I raped Naruto!" Anko declared the moment he opened his door, and stepped on inside uninvited. Kakashi frowned and followed her deeper into his apartment, resting down in the gentlemen's chair by his fireplace while Anko paced. "It was sweet and delicious." She felt the need to add. "

"You have defiled Sarutobi's trust." Kakashi said after some contemplation, finality in his voice, "he gave you Naruto to protect her, and you violate her? Shame. Fie and shame."

"Wh – hey. I didn't come here to get bitched at." Anko replied heatedly, "I need your help! I don't know what to do!"

"I will not help a rapscallion such as yourself," Kakashi glowered, eyes dark with disapproval as he caught the smell of alcohol on her breath, "especially not in defiance of that fine man Sarutobi – whom I love as a father, and is also handsome and doesn't smell old or crusty at all. I bid you out! Out with you, vile deviant!" Kakashi stood then, hands clenched white at his sides, "I will not raise a team in this degenerate village! I refuse! I shall find them –"

"_Kakashi_."

Sarutobi, once Kakashi paused his tale, slowly turned his head to the other occupants.

Anko caught his eyes and held them for a few seconds. Then she understood. "W – you don't actually _believe_ him do you!"

Her voice was an octave or so too high. Sarutobi narrowed his eyes and appeared to chew on his tongue for a moment. "Anko…"

Anko gawked and gestured around for a bit, making baffled noises. "You really – Kakashi? I wouldn't – wouldn't – UP UP AND AWAY!" She sprang from her seat and latched onto Naruto's ankle as the girl rocketed up through the not-even-a-month-old ceiling.

Kakashi, amid the distraction, sprinted to the nearby window and dove headfirst, then bounced off it with a harsh crack. Clutching feebly at his head and neck, Kakashi then tried to jump up and grab a quickly elevating Anko's ankle. However, dazed and in pain, Kakashi misjudged his jump and instead propelled himself into the ceiling headfirst, promptly falling down and through Sarutobi's desk in a plume of wood fragments. Kakashi then, in a barely lucid last ditch attempt, staggered himself towards the window a second time, missing due to double-vision and violently knocking himself unconscious on the wall.

Sarutobi made to stop and or kill them both, but upon standing promptly shattered his hip bone and keeled over in pain.

-0-

"Sorry I'm l-"

"Shut up. Sit down."

Kakashi sat down on the linoleum, next to Anko and Naruto. It seemed Sarutobi had removed all chairs from the room to spite them.

Sarutobi messed around with his bed for a bit, prodding the switches on the side until he could look them in the eyes. "I don't even care anymore." He informed them solemnly, "I put in my resignation this morning."

"_What_." Kakashi said, standing abruptly, "if you quit – then – then we'll need a replacement!"

"Yeah." Sarutobi confirmed, pressing the button for a nurse.

"But – but what if they don't appreciate my youthful shenanigans?" Kakashi wondered aloud, sounding deeply disturbed, "what if they don't like my excuses! What if they're _old_!"

"This is like, _super_ interesting n'shit, but can I go?" Anko asked, "I was sort of doing stuff."

Sarutobi narrowed his eyes and glanced over at a slightly flushed Naruto.

"I mean – the opposite of that." She yawned. "I was doing nothing, is what I mean… But I want to get back to it, though."

"Just… don't talk, for a while." He feverishly pressed the nurse button for a bit. It seemed that they'd wised up to his game. "I've resigned. That means I need a replacement. I also need you both to not be anywhere near this village ever again, so you're going to go find them and hopefully die in the process. Except for Naruto."

Anko and Kakashi caught each other's eyes. Anko took lead. "That first bit there, though… Since you're all resigned and stuff, don't that mean you can't order us around - wait _what am I doing_ this sounds cool except for Kakashi. I'll do it." She deadlegged Kakashi before he could open his mouth. And also because she hated him. "Fucking Kakashi."

"Good." Sarutobi said, and really pressed the hell out of the nurse button. When would his hot nurse be back, he wondered. Probably never. "Well, you leave right now. As in, get the hell out of this village."

"Question." Kakashi said, and raised his hand, "who're we finding?"

"Tsunade… I guess. Or whoever. I don't care."

"Follow up question." Kakashi announced, feeling proud for some reason, "where is she? Furthermore, is she still boobaliscious?"

"I don't know." Sarutobi said, a profound calm washing over him as he realized that the moment they walked out of the hospital they were no longer his problem. "And yes, probably."

"Sweet." Kakashi replied, "can we get an estimate though? Like… Fire country?"

"I can't remember. Maybe."

"Question." Naruto raised her hand. "Why are you so old?" Anko and Kakashi high fived her and she lit up with pride.

"Follow up question," Anko raised her hand before Sarutobi could justifiably reprimand them, "is this a paid deal? Because I'm gonna need to sleep inside. Also, we're all gonna need to be drunk," She continued, ticking off her fingers professionally, "that's a given, I mean, obviously. I'm gonna' need a net, too. Just your basic net. Kakashi's gonna need tissues and hand lotion."

"No I won't." He denied and held up his smooth and supple hands in case anyone felt like inspecting them. "I buy in bulk, I'm set for years. I will need a door or two, though. I'm going through them like… Uh… Sex joke." He sighed. "Come back to me, I can do better."

Anko nodded a bit. "I'm also gonna' need a body bag for Kakashi. 'Cause, you know, I'm eventually gonna' kill him. It's just gonna happen."

"It's true." Kakashi agreed easily and glanced over at Anko. "Though if you can't find a bag, just dump me on the women's side in the closest Onsen. Or just set me of fire and hurl me into the nearest mass of children."

"I like that fire one." Anko nodded, "yep, mental image is sticking. We're good." She turned back to Sarutobi. "I'm also gonna need some other stuff that I can't think of right now. Also whatever Naruto wants."

Sarutobi felt light. "Sure whatever." Someone would eventually regret that statement. Not Sarutobi of course, but someone.

-0-

Kakashi wandered around his apartment for a bit. He wondered what he was doing there. Was it important? Maybe he started a fire or something.

His door splintered clean off its hinges, skipping on the carpet for a bit before lodging in his wall. He would not be getting that security deposit back. Kiba made a show of stepping in and Sakura edged in behind him. The sight of them was like a dried turd crammed into Kakashi's eye.

"I'm getting good at this door-kicking thing." Kiba said, proud. "Anyway though," he continued on, ignoring Kakashi as the man finally understood the significance of what had just happened, "you owe us a shitton of training, and I know where you live, so. Here we are."

Kakashi nodded for a bit, mulling something over. Then wandered over and pried his door from his wall, heaved the thing onto his shoulder and started towards the doorway.

"Also I hate you, so that's why I kicked in the… door?" He said in a question-voice as Kakashi handed him the door. It was surprisingly heavy.

"That is your door now." Kakashi told him like that door was the best damn door he'd ever owned. "Carry it always." Then he leaned in close and whispered. "Or I will fucking _murder you._"

-0-

Anko rifled through her pack for a last second check. "Alright let's see… Money, net, body bag, snacks… Yup, we got everything. Kakashi, you set?"

Kakashi eyed the strap on his shoulder and weighed the pros and cons of having to check the pack attached to it. He decided not to. "Sure."

"I'm so happy I could shit. But seriously though, we should really go." Anko said and started walking. "We took like, _all_ the money."

Kakashi cared a little. "How much 'all the money'?"

-0-

Owl edged into the vault, skirting around the messily removed and evidently not impregnable door. Bills lied here and there, a few gold pieces scattered about, some lodged in the ceiling for some reason, like a poor leprechaun had wandered in and exploded.

-0-

Anko gestured to the comically bloated pack on Naruto's back. "That thing is full. Like, 'if it was a person it'd be a fatass' full. Framed the absolute shit out of Owl too. He is gonna be so pissed when he finds out."

"Cool." Kakashi replied, and then considered the ramifications of emptying out the Hokage's personal treasury. "Can I have some?"

"Yeah. I guess." Anko looked up at the sky, eyes easing down through the clouds and to the dirt road in front of her. The trees were starting to grow back, little stems poking out of the stumps like horribly misshapen fingers. For some reason it pissed her off. "You can take whatever when we get to a hotel. I don't want to sleep outside. I need at least two walls between us whenever I'm unconscious."

Kakashi nodded. "A valid precaution."

"Also there are gnats and shit, and they really piss me off."

"Gnats are the Sasukes of the insect kingdom." Kakashi agreed.

"Also, I feel like doing nothing for a while, so I'm ordering room service the second we get there."

"Same."

"Naruto never complains, but if she did she'd say camping sucks balls."

"I _do_ hate nature." Kakashi mused.

"I'll probably stay like a week, is what I'm saying." Anko heaved her pack higher on her shoulder. "Then maybe start looking for… Uh… Tuaaahh…D-uhhhhmm…"

Kakashi hummed appreciatively. "If you're waiting for me to finish your sentence, I wasn't listening, like, _at all_, during the brief."

Anko glanced over at Naruto, who shrugged guiltily. "Well shit damn, Kakashi." She realized she was really, really hungry at that moment, and was more concerned about it. "What do we do?"

Kakashi had played this game before. He stopped half-worrying immediately. "We screw around for a while, go back and have whoever's in charge fill in the blank, and then we just bullshit for a while."

Anko mulled it over. "You're the expert here. I'm game."

-0-

Six hours of running later and they wound up at Otafuku Gai, standing in front of a four story five-star hotel, with a hotel-ran and operated Onsen nextdoor. Kakashi scratched his ass and they all walked in. Anko went straight for the front desk.

"Give me your best room." Anko demanded forcefully.

"I'm a maid." The maid replied flatly, and walked off to do maid things.

"Then why the fuck were you standing there!" Anko shouted after her, a moment too late, then pursed her lips and glanced over at a snickering Kakashi. She nodded at him. "You first then, butthole."

Kakashi slowly stopped snickering, shrugged, and wandered over to the front desk, then started up a conversation with the female clerk.

Anko padded off and sidled up to Naruto to watch the man work. His chin moved up and down, and he made a few elaborate gestures, the woman paling rapidly.

Anko narrowed her eyes. "I suspect that he is doing something stupid." She said.

The clerk then reached out and slapped him. Kakashi, apparently dissatisfied with the quality of service, raised a foot over the desk and forcefully stomped on her face. Security poured in like a flood and it turned into a standoff. Kakashi standing over the unconscious clerk, wielding one of those beaded chain things they attach to pens to prevent theft.

Anko sighed at this point. Kakashi and the security exchanged some words; Kakashi dropped his weapon, sagged his shoulders and shuffled over to them across the marbled tile. "They said I'm not allowed in the building." He informed them.

"No shit." Anko said, glanced over at Naruto and tilted her head at the desk questioningly.

Naruto nodded, lips pursing into a determined pout, and started towards the front desk, Anko and Kakashi vacantly watching her go. They couldn't see what she said or did, but after about ten seconds of Naruto facing the new clerk the man shakily handed over a pair of keys, then fished his wallet out of his pants and handed it over too.

Naruto flounced back and handed Kakashi and Anko a key, then Anko a wallet, absolutely beaming. Anko hugged her. Kakashi tried to join but Anko elbowed him in the gut and he backed off.

"I don't know what you did and I don't care." Anko said and meant it. "We are gonna' be _so _lazy." The she took a random amount of money from Naruto's pack and hurled it in the main desk's general direction.

Kakashi glanced over at the clerk, surrounded by security, openly weeping and making emphatic, frightened gestures in their direction. He scratched his ass and looked down at his key. For some reason it pissed him off. "I hate you key" he leaned in and said, feeling genuinely angry, "Now lead me to your cold metal vagina."

-0-

"H-here's your f-f-f-f… FffffffffOOD! – food, I mean-" The maid continued to stutter around Naruto while Anko just stared at the three trays full of aesthetically pleasing and probably delicious food. "I brought it here – just like you requested so – I – I – I – I -"

She appeared to be broken. Anko gently led her to the door and closed it behind her. Then turned to look at Naruto, who looked back at her and blinked. Aside from the AnBu gear, there was literally no way she could look more innocent.

Anko shrugged.

Naruto shrugged.

Kakashi shrugged.

Anko and Naruto looked at Kakashi. "Fucking Kakashi." Anko said in summation.

"The door was open." Kakashi replied, and placed his lock picks back into his side pouch. Then he wheeled the first tray towards the couch. "Also I can't find my room."

"I'm not surprised." Anko said while Naruto padded over and flopped onto the four-poster bed. "All those twists and turns – passed two of those damn things on the way here. Good thing there are _literally_ _numbers_ on the doors or I would've gotten lost."

"… You hurt me just now." Kakashi said, and pointed at his heart, "right here." He glanced out the far window, saw the red-orange lanterns of the red light district glowing in the distance. "Also I lost my key."

Anko pointed at his hand. "You're literally holding it right now."

"I like the company." Kakashi defended.

"I dunno…" Anko mused, "you _are_ pretty unbearable…"

"I promise I will not say a word."

"If you're lying." Anko narrowed her eyes. "Well, let's just say I saw a lot of _children_ on the way here."

Kakashi sort of mashed his hand into his face in a no-finger salute. Anko suspected he didn't know how to.

"Good enough." Anko vaulted over the couch and Naruto flopped down next to her. "So. We're eating, then it's Onsen time, then sleep. Then repeat. I guess." She arbitrarily grabbed a bottle from the alcohol tray, popped the cork and took a sip. "Also get drunk. But like, for all of that, and also right now."

Kakashi ate a brown ball covered in creamy yellow sauce. He nodded.

"Also, you can't be here for the sleeping."

His picked up something and dropped it, shocked.

"Those are the rules." Anko replied at his face, and took one of the weird brown things before Kakashi could eat them all. "You just gotta be not here when we're naked and or sleeping."

Kakashi's face was sad and disappointed. He started drinking.

"Also, the onsen isn't co-ed."

Kakashi's eye went bloodshot.

"Furthermore, give me those brown things. They're good shit."

Kakashi started crying.

"Money's by the door, bitch." Anko couldn't help but add.

Kakashi felt violated. He took a few of the plates under his arm and moped out, grabbing a fistful of bills before he left.

Anko laughed at his pain for a bit, then they ate everything that looked sweet. Anko took another bottle from the alcohol tray and passed it to Naruto, looped an arm around her waist, held her own bottle high and declared, "to harmless overindulgence!" They both upended their bottles, glugged the contents, shuddered in perfect synchrony, carelessly tossed the empty bottles over their shoulders.

Anko was promptly overwhelmed with pride and endearment. She grabbed two more random bottles; they popped the corks and repeated. Anko eyed the bead of liquid stuck to the rim before she tossed it. She felt comfortable, a certain brand of irreverence that only alcohol and mild sleep deprivation could provide. Anko also felt that Naruto was really soft. She tilted her head down, cupped Naruto's chin and pressed a clumsy kiss to her lips.

She was so sweet, Anko thought, and then realized she had a hand halfway down Naruto's pants. "Resist." She slurred to herself. "You know what's down that road. Awesomeness and then guilt."

"… Anko." Naruto said in that soft voice of hers, eyes warm, cheeks flushed. A bit of moisture beaded on her bottom lip.

"_Urk_." It struck like a physical blow. "Resiiiiiist." Anko said hoarsely. She took a deep breath through her nose and sunk back into the couch. Then Naruto caressed her cheek, and eased her head down into a tender kiss.

… It was pretty forceful, actually, Anko noted. And what was that hand doing, she wondered, and why were her pants gone. Also, wasn't she on the couch a second ago?

"… Oh."

"…"

"… _Ooooh _now I g-"

[**Omake]**]

[so real]

Kakashi looked out at the grounds. His team was waiting. He wandered in closer. Sakura's face lit up as she saw him and she stood on her toes, smiling ear to ear.

"Sensei!" She crooned happily. Behind her Kiba stood from the shade of a tree and walked closer, Akamaru on his head out cold. "Sensei." He said, respectful. Sasuke appeared behind him, smirking but genuine warmth in his eyes. "Hn."

Kakashi reached out and ruffled his hair. "Oh you scamps." He said, voice pleasant. Sakura giggled and latched on to him. He looped in Sasuke and Kiba against their will and cried out "Group hug!"

"_Senseiiiiiii_."

"Augh, sensei…" Sasuke flushed.

Kakashi laughed and spun them around. "I love you guys."

"BRAAAAAAAAGH!" Kakashi shrieked and sat bold upright in bed, so absorbed in his terror he then stumbled to his feet and rampaged about the room like a gorilla. "AAAAAAH! GUUUUUAAAH! AAAAAAUGH!"

"Kakashi." He heard someone say, voice distant, like it was coming from across the room, "I heard you screaming, are you alright?"

He was breathing hard, he realized. Panting even. Like he'd just run for hours. "It was just a dream." He said, and wiped the sweat from his forehead. "Just a dream…" He looked at his hands, flipped them palms up and down, at his fingers. "So why does it feel so real... Why does it feel _so fucking real_!"

"I'm leaving."

"Okay."

[affinities, take one]

"Today we're testing your elemental affinities." Kakashi said with little prompting, and handed each member of his team a slip of paper. "Just channel your chakra into the paper and it will react according to your chakra type. Sasuke," He said to Kiba, "yours is strong, I can feel it. You should step back a good ways, no telling how strong the reaction will be."

"Fucking _yes_!" Kiba crooned, and dashed off behind a tree.

Sakura's face screwed up in concentration. Her paper turned to dust around the edges. "What does this mean, sensei?" She asked.

"You have earth." Kakashi said, and snorted derisively. "It even matches your personality. Useless."

_BOOM_!

A percussive thump sounded, the leaves in all the trees nearby shuddering for a second. "That'd be Sasuke." Kakashi said. Only he would know that Sasuke had gotten an explosive tag. Well, him and Sasuke.

The real Sasuke held up his crumpled paper.

"You have lightning." Kakashi said. "I'm so proud I could shit."

[take two]

Kiba's face screwed up in concentration. And stayed like that for a good while, while Sakura's and Sasuke's dissolved and crumpled respectively.

"I've never seen this before." Kakashi said, perturbed. And leaned in closer to watch Kiba channel his chakra. "Maybe it can't decide…"

"…Does this mean I have _all_ of them?" Kiba gushed, and held up his paper, amazed.

"All of them?" Kakashi snorted. "What are you, retarded?" He snorted again and continued patronizingly. "Yes Sasuke, you have _all_ the affinities, because you're _special_." He laughed for a bit. "_Dumbass_." Only Kakashi would know that Kiba got regular paper.

[take three]

"What does this mean, sensei?" Kiba asked as he held up his singed paper.

Kakashi stomped on his face. Only he would know that he was wearing cleats.

"Why are you wearing cleats, sensei?" Sakura asked.

"… Oh. Uh…" Kakashi ran away.

**Chapter 10: **

"Are you calling me a liar?"

"I – no. No I'm not." Kisame replied, and knew full well he was treading on thin ice over a lake of crazy ass water. "It's just that – the door is over _there_, and – I mean, I realize that your eyes have deteriorated – and that's nothing to be embarrassed about" he added quickly, "But, well it's-"

"Do you remember what I did to the last person who called me a liar?" Itachi said, like he was asking about the weather.

"Well, you insulted his clothes."

"Oh, and then what?" Itachi was clearly fishing for something.

Kisame knew what he wanted to hear. "He started cry-"

"_He started crying_." Itachi confirmed. "Now, do you have anything to say about the location of the door?"

Kisame grimaced. "Look, if I don't correct you you're just gonna' feel real stupid. The door's-"

"That cloak makes you look fat."

"I don't even…" He sighed. "Whatever. You win."

"Yes." Itachi said, and moved to calmly knock on the wall in front of him, as was polite. "Hello," he called to it, "might there be a Naruto staying in this room?" He pressed his ear to the wall, waited a few moments for sounds of movement. Knocked again. "I only ask because my associate and I are looking for her, and wish to have a dignified and peaceful conversation."

Kisame didn't know what to say. "… I don't think they're-"

"You're right." Itachi said, implying his obvious sentiment, and stepped back. "They aren't going to answer. We must use force."

Kisame didn't even try to stop him. Itachi reared back and kicked a hole clean through the wall, foot emerging on the other side, covered in dust and drywall. "What sort of sorcery is this!" Itachi howled, strained to pull his foot back through the hole.

"Itachi," Kisame said, "It's a-"

"It's a trap!" Itachi finished his statement with pure, superior logic and reacted accordingly. His eyes spun into the sharingan and belched out a plume of black fire, vaporizing the room and its frightened mini-fridge in one fell swoop. Foot now resting in less of a hole and more of a cradle, Itachi easily retrieved his leg, then dusted himself off with the dignified air of a man who had just been sneezed on.

Kisame noted that the onset of dementia was occurring faster than he'd been warned. "Itachi." He said, and shuffled back away from the still roaring flames, "maybe you should put that out? I think we need her ali-"

"Alimony, of course!" His sharingan logically concluded, "We can use the money to put out wanted posters. Come, Kisame." Itachi shuffled down the hall, hands stretched out like a man in the dark. He knocked over a lamp, was so startled by the noise that his eyes thumped another stream of black fire straight down through the floor. "I made us an exit." Itachi said, and hopped down into the fire-rimmed hole he'd made.

Kisame didn't call him on it. "…Thanks, man."

"What's with all the fire?" A feminine voice asked.

Kisame didn't turn to look. "Yeah. Sorry 'bout that. It'll be gone in a week."

"Oh, well that makes it okay then."

"You know what'll help though? Being a sarcastic bitch." How in the hell was he getting down that hole? Screw touching it. Maybe he could just use the stairs or something.

"I was being serious. See, normally fire just goes out when it's out of fuel, but his stuff goes out in a week. You can see how that'd be a bonus."

"Know what else'd be a bonus? You shutting the hell up."

"Oh _fuck that_. Naruto, hold my sandwich."

"… _Wait a mi_-" Kisame started to turn but was cut off by a boot to his lower back, sending him stumbling forwards a bit, and straight into the flame-ringed hole.

-0-

"So then I kicked his ass down the hole, and then it's now." Anko felt too lazy to sigh, she went limp into Kakashi's sofa, Naruto flopped over in her lap. "All the money was in there so we're broke as shit."

"Actually, I still have what I took from you." Kakashi held up his money, which, from what Anko could tell from her not-really-paying-attention glance, could buy them close to nothing.

"You're better off literally eating that money, Kakashi, you would get more sustenance from it. Where the hell did it all go? You grabbed like a handful."

Kakashi looked like he thought about something. "It starts with 'P' and rhymes with 'Shmostitute.'" He said cryptically.

"You speak in riddles." Naruto said.

"Heh." Anko snorted. "Stay classy, Kakashi. But seriously, there are turds out there with more money than us, and I refuse to be a poor person."

"We could rob this place." Kakashi suggested, and pulled out his trusty beaded pen-chain that he'd kept for sentimental reasons. "Just saying."

"About that," Anko said, "this place is going to be on fire for a week, so we're better off finding some other place. Seriously, that black fire shit's like napalm on crack, or whatever you put in Ibiki's coffee forever ago."

"That was just anti-psychotics." Kakashi said.

Anko wasn't sure she liked the implications. Also she didn't believe him. "Really?"

"Heh. No." Kakashi chuckled nostalgically, "I put so much _drugs_ in there."

"Oh, fun. But re-"

"It was more a paste than a liquid. I'm still amazed he didn't notice."

"That's super, but really-"

"Seriously, like goddamn cement. He should have died." Kakashi sounded like meant it.

"Kakashi. This place is present-tense _on fire_. Shit will _not_ go out. We should go."

"Oh okay." The man agreed easily. "Just let me grab my stuff."

Anko watched him wander around the room, pick up a kunai or two, a box of tissues, a spare face-mask. He put the stuff in his pack, and Anko expected him to shoulder it and walk out. She should have known better. Kakashi moved to steal everything not nailed down. He shuffled around, cramming everything into his pack that he could, the tiny shampoo bottles, the shower knobs for some reason, the sofa which he first shooed them off of, then sealed, and some other stuff. Then he wandered over and lifted the bed.

"Kakashi, what are you d…"

She trailed off as the man went into a spin and hurled the bed through the far window like a gigantic shot-put. "And I'm set." Kakashi said, and shouldered his pack. Anko heard a distant crash, someone scream. "Well. Let's go."

"… Whatever."

They walked out, saw a maid wreathed in black flames come screeching down the hall. Kakashi tripped her, laughed, kicked in the door behind him for shits and giggles and walked off. "Fuck yeah." He said, and knew today was going to be a good day.

-0-

"Otafuku Gai, try Fire Country's _ballsack_!" Anko shouted to the seediest bar they could find, slammed her drink down on the counter for emphasis, "This place smells like wet ass!"

"Now now, Anko." Kakashi said, took a dignified sip of his stolen beverage, "I'm sure this place is very self-conscious of its ass-sweat like odor, no reason to go shouting and hurting its feelings." He tosses the empty glass over his shoulder, nailed a grizzled old man right in the dome, "Though there's not much left we can steal, and I _do_ hate everyone around me." He mused, nodded, poured himself another drink while the bartender wasn't looking. "Hey, it smell like wet ass to you?"

Anko swiveled around on her barstool in response, glowered out at the other patrons. "This fine man here says none a'you has the balls to stand up and fight him!" She proclaimed in a half-assed attempt to alleviate her boredom, "He also had sex with your sister and _never talked to her again!_"

"You _sonnavabitch_!" A man near the back stood, took a bottle between the eyes courtesy of Kakashi, sat back down.

"I expected a better reaction than that." Anko said after a moment, looked out over the supremely disinterested/drunk crowd, "I'm disappointed in all of you. You let me down." She swiveled back to her drink and downed it. "Seriously though, we're out of places to rob that haven't already banned us by reputation, and I feel sort of bad about almost-killing those police. What else can we even steal?"

"… Hell if I know." Kakashi said, and didn't feel like thinking. "Who cares?"

"Ah, true." Anko replied, patted her trenchcoat pocket, "not like I need more money."

"No," Kakashi disagreed earnestly, "you can never have enough money."

Anko looked off to the side, then back. "True too." She nodded.

"If you're lookin' for something to steal," The bartender leaned in on his elbows and said, hoping they would leave, "I hear lots of depraved ass shit round here, but I heard today there's a big transfer from the Casino here, going out on a cart in a day or so, don't know where to." He slapped Kakashi's hand as the man tried to steal another round right in front of him, "thing's disguised as a rice cart for security, or something, couldn't hear much of that part either, just know it's heading out in a day or two, from the east entrance."

"… That sounds surprisingly heist worthy." Anko said, and thanked the bartender by not stealing his wallet. "Kakashi, you game?"

Kakashi nodded, stole another drink, looking the bartender right in his eyes while he did, daring him to say something. "Sounds cool. I'm up for it."

Anko swiveled on her barstool, hollered "You're _all_ his bitches now!"

No one even raised their head.

"You're a hack." She said, pointing around, "should be ashamed a'your damn selves. Screw this I'm leaving." She stormed out, pissed that she couldn't even incite a little bar riot. Naruto left her three story glass tower she'd been constructing and trailed after her.

Kakashi picked up his barstool, tucked it under his arm. Looked everyone in the eyes. Walked out.

-0-

The three crouched down behind a tree near the edge of Otafuku Gai, eyeing an ox-pulled cart that slowly closed on their position along a smoothed dirt road, sunlight pouring down through the trees lining the sides. The birds were oddly silent.

"Alright." Anko leaned in; hands coned around her mouth as she whispered loudly, "we're all clear, right?"

Kakashi nodded conspiratorially. "I think so." He said, as usual refusing to make any statement that could be interpreted as a sign of competence. He found that it excused him from any personal responsibility.

"Ah." Naruto said, once again distracted by the butterfly that had taken a shine to Kakashi's hair. Her role wasn't all too important so Anko was content to leave her to her own devices.

"Alright, move out." She nodded harshly, went to turn but stopped and leaned in close, "don't fuck this up." She said at Kakashi, then vanished into the trees.

Kakashi scoffed, eyed the cart around fifty feet from his position. It looked like a thing straight out of the Wild West, a grizzled old man hunched over the reins, snap-cracking the pair of oxen and taking huffs off a cob-pipe every few seconds or so. Kakashi felt an alienly strange feeling bubble up in his gut. Something like a tensed muscle hiding behind his diaphragm. Was it guilt? He burped and it went away, so probably not.

He went up into the tree and eyed across the beaten path, saw Anko flash him a thumbs up from another tree and mouth _"Seriously, don't fuck this up."_

Kakashi nodded back, turned to the cart, nearly beneath him then.

"Cacaaw!" Anko loosed her signal. That or a bird just exploded, she wasn't very good at it.

Kakashi nodded back again, this time at nothing, and furrowed his brow in concentration. He leapt from the tree, graceful and agile like a tiger on the prowl - a tiger that happened to have been on the prowl in a tree, and flung itself from said tree like it had just been electrocuted. He used a low branch as a pivot, swung and dropkicked the frail old man straight off his cart, then immediately took up the reins and cracked them.

Anko thumped down next to him from out of nowhere, checked beneath the canvas cover and made sure there really was something of value.

"It's there." She said, relieved that they hadn't just robbed another old man of all his belongings/dead hookers. Again. Naruto drifted down lazily and flopped over the lumpy canvas, positioned like she'd been fired from cannon and just happened to land there.

"Aaand we're rich again." Anko concluded, the significance finally sinking in. "Third time's the charm I guess."

"Fifth I think." Kakashi said, scratched his leg with his foot, "finally perfected my flying treekick too. Did you see me?"

"Yes I did." Anko said, patted him on the back. "I'm so proud I could shit."

"Hey!"

Everyone glanced behind the ambling cart, saw the old man hobbling after them looking like he'd snap in half in a gentle breeze.

"Stop ye' whippersnappers! At's me' cart y'all've gone d'unne stolen!"

"We can't _un_ – _der_ –_stand_ you!" Kakashi enunciated loudly and slowly, cracked the reins again. "Try talking like you're not a thousand!"

"Giv'er back!" The man shouted back hoarsely and shuffled a bit faster, starting to gain on them. "Y'ah giv'er'on back ta'me!"

"Old people." Anko said, snorted. "Am I right?"

The old man pulled a cane, hefted the thing above his head and wheezed along faster still.

"Well spoken." Kakashi agreed, picked up the cob-pipe he'd dropkicked from the old man's mouth and took a curious puff.

"Aaaaaauuuaauu!" The trailing man gave a sound like an extended yawn, whipped his cane around blindly. It happened almost in slow motion. The tip contacted a nearby tree, and given that Anko and Kakashi were already watching him hobble after them with matching hellbound smirks, they both also saw the tree tear out of the ground and go flying like he'd just backhanded a child's toy.

"Holy fucking shit!" Anko roared, "He's like a crusty goddamn Terminator! Faster! Go faster god damn it – It's gaining on us!"

Kakashi cracked the reins hard; the cart lurched up to a blistering three miles an hour.

"I'magonnagetyallwhippersnappers!" The old man howled, shuffling like a motherfucker, whipping his cane around and wheezing up a storm.

"Fuck! Fuck! Fuck!" Anko started shouting, leapt up onto the canvas and started jettisoning things from the cart in the hopes that it would either speed them up or slow It down.

"Go faster fuck damn it!" Anko bellowed, as usual spewing curses at the first sign of potential threat. She saw a hurled crate of gold bars explode to dust around the man's cane, screeched and ducked as a bar flew back and bent around Naruto's face like a still-motion shot of a popped water balloon.

"It's fucking gaining on us! Fucking shit _cock_!" She tugged the canvas loose and lobbed the thing at him. It wrapped around him like a wayward piece of saran wrap, had an effect like derailing a train as the man shuffled off course, plowed through a few trees before he wheezed the thing off of him and started after them again.

Kakashi cracked the reins so hard they snapped like an overstretched rubber band. He snarled and just kicked the absolute shit out of the oxen, cranking up their speed to a hazardous four miles an hour, the cart rocking like a ship on mildly wavy seas – and he knew if he fell he'd have one serious boo-boo to contend with. "You're playing a dangerous game, Kakashi." Kakashi muttered. "Keep your shit together."

"Uuuuauuu!" The old man wheezed like a zombie as he stumbled on a twig. The cart pulled ahead ten feet while he corrected himself, forgot what he was doing, then remembered and started after them again, hobbling like a madman.

"Yeah, we're down to the last crate." Anko said, her and Naruto sitting on the back of the cart, the thing barren. "And I'm not throwing this one, because, you know, the irony."

Naruto chose them moment to yawn the gold bar off her face, then flopped over backwards, watched the clouds drifting across the sky. Anko eyed the old man shambling after them, guessed the distance to be twenty feet and increasing. "Hell, I guess we're in the clear. Some crazy shit though, yeah?"

"I'magonna… Get… Y'all! Dag… Fernit!" He sounded tired.

"Never would have guessed he'd have super strength." Kakashi agreed, stomped on the complacent oxen for a bit. "Makes sense though."

"Sure does." Anko nodded, flopped on her back, wondered what Naruto found so fascinating, considered asking her but didn't. She looked too peaceful. "Sure fucking does."

An amiable silence set in, Anko and Naruto watched the clouds drift by through the treetops, Kakashi occasionally prodded the oxen, head lolling like he'd been sedated, though it was actually from the motions of the cart, as he couldn't be bothered to tense his neck.

"… You wanna slow down and see if he'll catch up?" Kakashi finally asked, got nothing in response. He glanced over his shoulder, saw they were asleep, sprawled out, smiling stupidly.

"I need a sidekick." Kakashi said, made a mental note to pick one of his genin to make awesome. Then he forgot about it. Fell asleep. Woke up violently. Calmed down. Fell asleep again.

-0-

"I was all gung-ho about this a while ago but…" Anko continued to look down into the opened crate, "the fuck can we even do with gold? Do people even take it?"

"I'd take it." Kakashi said like his opinion mattered, "but that's a good point. I'm pretty sure no one uses gold outside of jewelry and just owning it."

"So we need to find a… Gold… Buyer?" Anko wondered aloud, grimacing at just how stupid that combination of words sounded. "Or something."

Kakashi nodded, knowing full well he had no idea either. "Alright, I honestly have no idea how much gold is worth." He kicked the crate for good measure. "But I figure this is either worth a _lot_, or… Like. _Not_ a lot."

Naruto glanced away from the moon to eye them both, then the crate. She shrugged.

"You've certainly covered all the bases." Anko admitted. "We could just pawn this shit on whoever. Whatever they've got for a bar."

"We could gamble it." Kakashi suggested in turn, assuming they were brainstorming. "Casinos take gold I think. Or we could just exchange the gold for money at a Casino, depends on whether or not we're feeling ballsy."

"Yes." Anko said. "Hell yes." She heaved up the crate and they started to the nearest Casino, a three story building that looked like the unholy offspring of a box and a lightbulb, Kakashi giggling and clapping his hands the whole way, only to be turned back at the entrance by security.

"No shinobi allowed." A large man in a black suit held out his hand. "I'm going to have to ask you to leave."

"We just want to exchange this gold that we totally didn't steal for some money." Anko said reassuringly, and rattled the crate on her shoulder, "In and out."

"And also gamble for a bit." Kakashi added.

"I'm sorry miss," He said politely to her cleavage, "but we no longer cater to shinobi. Period."

"Is this about that big hole in your wall?" Kakashi wondered aloud, and eyed the tarp'ed off tree sized wound on the side of the building.

"Indeed it is."

"If I may," Kakashi continued politely, "What exactly happened to your establishment?"

"The legendary sucker." He said like that explained everything.

"I don't know what that means." Kakashi replied. "Is that slang for sex? Did sex do this? Damn you teenage hormones!" Kakashi bellowed at the hole, "first you taint perfectly usable vaginas and now you make useless house-holes! You'll let in flies you sick bastard!"

"I don't know what he's doing right now." Anko pulled the attention back to her, hopefully convincing the man that they weren't insane, "The point he's probably trying to convey is that we aren't going to start anything, we _have_ money, just want to go in, get drunk, and leave – probably broke as shit."

"I understand the sentiment," The man said, sounding painfully sober, "but we've always been on the ropes about shinobi, tricks and sleight of hand and all that shit." He leaned in and continued under his breath, "We're actually still waiting for funds to arrive from a branch in Otafuku Gai just to fix this damn place and hire some better security, fairness aside you can see why we have a new policy."

"…Ah." Anko said, chuckling awkwardly. She caught Kakashi's eye, hoping the man would be awake and actually care enough to bullshit them out of any potential future shituations, as her negotiation tactics were, in order: curse, start a fire, _kill everything_. "You don't say."

"We also realized that we just don't have the means to stop a dine-and-dash type scenario. I _am_ sorry about this, but I can't let you in… Of course I also can't _stop_ you… Hmm…" He trailed off as the weight of his own realization settled in, and wondered when that damn money would get there. His bulging muscles could only do so much against a shinobi - that being curl up into a ball more efficiently.

Anko squared her shoulders. She _needed_ to gamble, something about the lights, the cold night air, the vaguely farty smell. It made her want to get drunk and shout at a deck of cards; start a fight with some high-roller and steal their shades; laugh at some idiot that gambled their dreams and then do the same. If she didn't get inside she was going to _kill_ someone. Irrational, red hot anger started bubbling in her gut.

"Look, if this is about us cheating or something, my luck is _shit_. Seriously, watch this." Anko got a coin from Kakashi, handed him the crate, called out "No, seriously, watch this shit. Heads." And flipped it.

The coin landed in the dirt.

"_Fuck_! I mean tails!" Anko was well aware he was only humoring her because of her breasts and his inability to make them leave at this point. She picked up the coin, clenched it in her fist, and felt blind rage frothing up her throat. "Alright, two out of three! Heads!"

The coin landed in the dirt.

"Three out of five. _Heads_!" She snarled, _daring_ that son of a bitch coin to pull that shit again. The rage was on her tongue, twitching and writhing like an insect, biting at the inside of her mouth.

The coin spun up in a graceful arc, plopped on the ground.

"You son of a cocking whore _buttfucker_!" Anko roared and stomped the coin into the dirt, shouting profanities as loud as she possibly could. Naruto immediately set to helping her, leaving sizable boot-shaped dents in the process.

"You too good for my friend, coin!" Kakashi bellowed, crouched down on his knees and got up in the coin's face, the action made very hazardous from Anko and Naruto's alternating stomps. "Huh? Is she not _good _enough for you! _Huh_! Answer me you cocky little fuck!" Kakashi punched the coin right in its coin face. Stood, spat on it. Then he pulled another coin from his pocket and feverishly rubbed it against his crotch. "Look what I'm doing to your friend, coin! Yeah! Oh _fuck_ yeah! You're a _dirty_ coin aren't you!"

Anko, coming to the end of a laundry list of curses, moved on to unpleasant words like 'moist' and 'slurp.' She found the impact less than satisfactory, and instead abruptly turned and snap-kicked the bouncer's two-hundred-and-fifty pound frame through the door and into the bowels of the casino. She then held up a clenched fist, howled to herself and any bystanders too overcome by terror or amusement to move, "_Burn this fucker down_!"

Anko flashed through seals, kicked down the door that had swung closed after admitting the bouncer, and spat a plume of fire into the Casino. Almost immediately balls of screaming fire formerly known as people came sprinting out the doorway, and Kakashi, with a droll and disinterested look, took to nonchalantly tripping them as they passed. Sort of helping in his own retarded way.

Anko, still tense with rage, thundered into the Casino. Naruto, now unable to reach the coin due to it being a leg's length in the dirt, flounced in after her.

Kakashi wandered back a bit and watched along with a good sized crowd as holes sprouted in the ceiling, plumes of fire exploding through and up in the sky like novicemade fireworks, giving off lazy "ooooh's" and "aaaah's" with everyone else. Eventually Anko and Naruto appeared in the doorway, backlit by roaring flames, each wearing a pair of shades.

"Fuck yeah." Anko said, then removed her shades and tossed them somewhere as the novelty wore off. Naruto looked at her hands through the tinted glass, then around for a bit as they wandered over to Kakashi, and finally took them, eyed them curiously, and tossed them over her shoulder.

Kakashi looked at them both and shrugged. "Happy now?"

"Yeah." Anko replied, sounding satisfied. She turned to Naruto and flashed a grin. "Thanks for helping start those fires."

Naruto beamed. "Mm."

Anko took her up in a hug and span around, giggling on the last of her adrenaline high. Then she plopped Naruto back down on her feet. "I'm tired now." She said. "Let's go get some food."

"Yeah." Kakashi said, and tripped her as she walked away.

-0-


	3. Sky Eater

Title: **Sky Eater**  
>Category: AnimeManga » Naruto  
>Author: JellyfishBlues<br>Language: English, Rating: Rated: T  
>Genre: AdventureHorror  
>Published: 09-20-10, Updated: 01-21-11<br>Chapters: 9, Words: 33,049

**Chapter 1: Shrine**

She knows her shrine. Knows her sky that glows red overhead; a lake, pristine and edged with groves of shriveled trees beneath. Branches black with tar, pointing up towards the sun like grasping hands. And in the center of that water, thick cylindrical posts thrust through the sediment, jabbing from the calm water into the sky with faded red gloss. They surround her, she knows very well. Each bearing the shared weight of an ornate structure. A deeply sloping roof, penetrating the waters with shingles like steepled fingers, gables of blackened cedar and frayed panel flooring. A single sliding door of bamboo and paper. The fibers have seen better days.

In the back of her mind she remembers, just enough that they don't surprise her. The aged shoji door slides open, admitting acolytes in fabric as dark as the trees. They guide a woman behind them, ordained for reasons she does not understand. They treat the her with a quiet dignity; guiding her forwards under her own power - and she holds her covered head high, bare feet padding against the wooden paneling with an air of finality.

The acolytes lead her on, and the woman kneels at her feet, head bowed and she does not understand. The garbs of black fall on their knees as well; they speak but she can't understand them.

The woman remains on her knees, elbows and forehead pressed to the floor, palms flat and fingers spread. Submissive.

_"Have you made your peace?" _A voice asks. Soft and serene and lovely. Is it hers? She isn't sure.

The woman thrills in place, draws a shuddering breath that burns in the oppressive silence. "Yes my Lord," She gasps, reverent in all but her eyes, but she can't see them.

She knows the shrine, but she doesn't know this woman - this woman on her knees before her, head bowed and quaking. Hands, long fingers and ruby skin fleet outwards, ghastly and wreathed in impossibly red smoke - and she doesn't recognize them either. Doesn't recognize anything but the wet tear that follows, and the silence as the acolytes vanish into the woodworks. And as she sits in the rotting shrine the sky above burns.

"One 'Fuumi Yutaka' selected a low C class mission from the archives; a newly instated Jonin, received her vest and Genin team two weeks ago, names: Daichi, Futaba, Midori Kusaha. They traveled to Oni-no-Kuni to assist with a cultural festival. The mission, requested by a 'Hokuzo Nashimi' states parameters as 'miscellaneous tasks deemed hazardous to civilian level volunteers. Fuumi Yutaka was scheduled to return one week ago. Suspicious enough on it's own merits."

The Sandaime pauses, taking a weary draw from his pipe and Inu stands the smallest bit straighter.

"I have received intel that suggests identical requests were sent to Kiri, Iwa and Taki - and given our flimsy relationship with those involved checking for continuity is proving more difficult than I imagined - so, as of yet that is unconfirmed. However... my usual sources are quiet, and official communications with Oni-no-Kuni are nonforthcoming as to the situation."

He draws another thick breath, slapping the official briefings and four storage scrolls down on his desk for Inu to pocket. He hopes the storage scrolls will go unused but knows better than to expect anything but the worst possibility. They are probably all dead.

"Dajimu and Tera will accompany you. Both have been briefed. You will meet at area 35c at O-200. You are allotted one week for completion. I expect results. Dismissed."

Inu fades back into the woodwork. Sarutobi waits five seconds and sighs into his palms.

Inu converges with both Dajimu and Tera at exactly two-o-clock, and area 35C is much darker than he expected - even in the early hours. Not even the smallest of nods to show acknowledgement but Inu still flashes off over the village walls and as he expects both follow him, exactly one second back and soundless - against all odds their phantom-like presence reassures him.

They sprint through gradually thinning and thickening groves of trees, and it is Inu who decides to halt. He can guess the time from the waning light and knows very well the dangers of being mobile in twilight - even more-so running into the sun, and being so far from Konoha he places caution above speed . He finds shelter in one of the thicker trees, where he pulls a ration bar from a side pocket. Dajimu and Tera each find their own cover but he pays them no mind - and the ration bar is as bland and tasteless as ever. Adding water to the mixture is like adding water to cement, it takes quite a bit to get the mixture completely out of his mouth.

Inu flares his chakra for a brief moment before he sets off - and is almost concerned at how instantaneously Dajimu and Tera follow suit. It must have taken some time to produce such an ingrained reaction... He springs into the foliage once again, and once again they follow one second behind.

After so long in service Inu doesn't need to think; his feet find branches automatically and the hours of monotonous travel become just the slightest bit more bearable.

The people are afraid; that is the only way Inu can describe the situation. The sky is blue and the people are afraid, deathly afraid in fact. Though they attempt to keep up appearances any questioning -through a henged kage-kunshin- results in abruptly dropped conversations at best and frantic dismissals at worst.

It seemed more and more like a heinous taboo the more Inu looked into it - even in the assumed secrecy of their own homes not a soul mentioned anything pertaining to disappearances - and it is clear to him that there have been more than he assumed - the streets are far too thin; he has only seen a handful of women, all of which -Tera claims- are related to those with a major hold on tourism. The hotels and widespread baths each with it's own panicked daughter. He has yet to see an adolescent.

Dajimu - who he discovers to be an expert tracker - finds no trace of the supposed client; neither in the household mentioned in the request nor in the streets - and any questioning about 'Hokuzo' elicits honestly confused reactions. Tera finds roughly the same and Inu doesn't bother.

_Two days pass and Inu runs out of options_

His name is Takeshi, Inu tells himself. He walks flippantly (stupidly, he notes in his head, and feels ridiculous for it) and checks with his peripheral vision that 'Momo' and 'Kenji' are still there. He has the utmost faith in his abilities - and being surrounded by civilians with zero experience in more covert tactics he doubts there will be any complications other than the anticipated. His henge is flawless enough, he supposes, Dajimu - _Momo, _in this case_- _however, has quite the talent, Tera - _Kenji_ only slightly less so and it surprises him that he is the least practiced with infiltration of his team.

Takeshi is a plain boy; brown hair and darker skin with only his slightly-off green eyes keeping him from being uncommonly average.

Momo stands a good head taller than him, cold grey eyes, dark brown hair and a bust designed to draw attention. It draws his for the first five minutes and she cuffs him over the head for it (in character, of course, as a reminder to act like a brother not overtly concerned with his sisters cleavage)

Kenji may very well be his clone but for his shorter cropped hair - and he questions Tera's mentality until it occurs to him that despite the rarity twins may or may not be more appealing - Inu bets on 'more' and is willing to take the risk. All in all they look an older more street-wise sister dragging her (stupid, he notes, really, really stupid) brothers along - and Inu certainly notices the stares they receive. Vaguely amused at the civilian attempt at covert glances but not pleased with the expressions. A guilty sort of pity.

Inu does not like it one bit.

They find a suitable hotel soon enough - distinguished from the others by sudden drop in the population gradient. Inu assumes that if the common people avoid it there is a good chance there will be a bite - and he knows damn well they're tempting (stupid) bait.

The 'grandmotherliest' old woman he's ever seen greets them with a broad and near toothless smile - and Takeshi ignores how contagious it is.

Momo sets up their room, providing a hint of backstory that 'Hikari' seems awfully intent on discovering. Takeshi prattles to his brother while his bosomy-wolf of a sister methodically explains what she no doubt expects Hikari wants (though also does not want) to hear. They are alone, he commits to memory, traveling from a rural community for east, for reasons Momo tries to seem hesitant to mention though strongly hints at - fortunately Hikari does not pry much further.

He fabricates further history in his mind while Hikari leads them to their room. They are on the run from an abusive father, he imagines, who, fairly pissed after their mothers death (in childbirth, with him and his brother) has no room in his heart left for them, that room properly filled with alcohol and bitter anger. Over the years his interactions grew worse and worse - and worse - though Momo was always there for them, and as a result grew more and more detached as she herself drew the focus of their fathers ire, empty bottles, and misplaced lust. As of now their father would prefer them never return (except for Momo, maybe) - they hitched a ride to Oni-no-Kuni with the intent of (stupidly) fending for themselves.

Takeshi whacks himself in the head to snap out of his daze - and is honestly a little concerned with the ease that he contrived such utter bullshit. It will serve him well though, he thinks.

Hikari shows them their room and offers them a homecooked dinner. He makes sure to jump on the offer.

Takeshi takes time for inane smalltalk - trying to emanate the emphatic sort of excitement he remembers from his not so near past. He smiles at anything and everything and -though not purposely- draws a callous sort of pleasure at the growing guilt tugging at the end of Hikari's lips. He rattles off his and his siblings short history at Hikari's gentle probing with an uncomprehending innocence. While he blathers, his brother needs standoffish coaxing from Momo to so much as compliment the meal - his other time spend jabbing at it with his chopsticks. Momo simply eats. Small bites and flat expressions, leaving the feelings and talking to her brothers and her delicious, delicious breasts. Luckily Hikari is more focused on Takeshi's young and often pointless ramblings and straining to keep a confiding grin on her face.

The meal concludes - though Hikari adamantly refuses to allow them to bed without a cup of tea. So he and his 'siblings' sit at an unearthly large table - and, surrounded by empty chairs and tables and smiles stare down at three drugged teacups. Honestly he has never felt so out of place.

It is oddly difficult to diagnose the anesthetic - luckily his sense of smell is second to none and the moment before the porcelain touches his lips the odor is strong enough to recognize.

If he was a civilian he'd be out for roughly a day. As it is, he'll be slightly drowsy. And though it would be simple enough to spill or otherwise avoid consuming, he doesn't doubt that there aren't more proactive means to knocking them unconscious.

Takeshi downs the whole cup with abandon. Momo and Kenji follow suit shortly and he hopes they recognize what he's doing.

He makes a show of his slowly drooping head, and almost synchronizing with Kenji his skull plumps against the table. Momo - with a larger mass and honestly, an appearance so cold one would expect a strong constitution - stands sharply from her seat and stumbles, grasping at her head and knocking over chairs left and right, and also a very nice tea set. She curses under her breath as she finally falls on her side.

Grandmotherly Hikari drops her smile and Takeshi tries his very best to remain perfectly limp as someone carries him out - and it takes a lot of effort to maintain his henge under the indifferently harsh treatment. Whoever it is - for he doesn't dare open his eyes - they smell like blood and rot and he most certainly doesn't growl.

He is set in what he assumes to be a storage closet - he and his fake siblings leaned against the wall in an oddly caring manner - almost unsettling, stays limp until the door closes and even then does not change his position - however, he does release his henge, which was slowly becoming more and more difficult to maintain. The recurring twinge in the back of his brain vanishes and he sighs through his mask. Hikari and Momo follow suit but don't make a sound. Inu prays they will be back by dark to change locations, because he does not want to spend more than a few hours perfectly still in a locked closet.

They are in fact back by dark. Inu Tera and Dajimu reapply their respective disguises the moment footsteps approach - and Inu takes a grim sort of pleasure in the thought that he won't be waiting in uncompanionable silence for much longer. They are carried out of the grand hotel, and though he doubts they'll notice Takeshi consciously keeps his heart from pounding in sheer anticipation. They are taken through dark and empty streets, he suspects they are mobile for around three hours. Notably down a flight of open-air stairs, which he suspects are simply for sure footing.

Their captors enter an establishment, drop them on a cold floor, closing a -what he suspects to be- metal grate of a door. Footsteps trail off; Takeshi dares to open his eyes a twinge and finds with a repressed groan he is correct. They are locked in a cell, wooden flooring and walls with an out-of-place line of bars partitioning them off from the rest of the equally dismal room. His one eye is strong enough to see clearly so he doesn't bother with his masks extra functions. Dajimu is gone. They must have had use for her, but Inu doesn't doubt her skill.

He drops his disguise and replaces himself with a kage-bunshin. As he expected Tera is experienced enough to do the same - clones are a major part of tracking/scouting and it comes to no surprise that his squad of accomplished trackers has two (or more) members who know such a useful skill.

Inu sets off picking the lock with a series of pins he pulls from his vest - and swings the door open as silently as he possibly can. Tera closes the door behind him while Inu further examines the room - finding no immediate threats or chakra signatures he darts into the hall adjacent - finding no guard as he expected. Tera follows as he pads along - keeping to the left wall to cover for his blind spot.

The exit is simple enough to find; rather straightforward architecture, Inu muses. But even he pauses once outside - and despite his years in an organization based on the premise of absolute silence he cannot help the shocked "ah?" that spurts from his mouth. Tera however says nothing and reacts in no outwardly visible fashion - just as Inu expected from his ridiculously unflappable comrade.

He starts off after a moment of acclimation - taking note of, but wholeheartedly trying not to consider the ominous surroundings. The sky is red. The trees are black... and... dripping. He does not touch them, opting for keeping his dash on the patches of land not yet stagnant with tar. Tera stays in the trees - and Inu swears he can hear a bubbling hiss coming from his direction. Imagined or not he has no intention of contacting some strange, possibly acidic substance - and for a moment he considers turning on his heels and sprinting back to Konoha, because things can only get worse and he doubts they will be enough.

The moment passes. He vaguely sees a structure in the distance - and he flicks a slider on his mask - observing with his keener eye for long enough to memorize any significant details - most significant of all he sees Dajimu -Momo, at the moment- tossed over some mans shoulder; heading down a thin harbor to a wooden-canoe of a boat - and Inu does not like the look of that water. He flicks the slider down once again and starts towards the dock - Tera maintaining the same one second distance he'd been consistently keeping the whole time.

An odd feeling grows in the pit of his stomach the closer he gets - and though on most occasions he would listen with every fiber of his being to any of his gut feelings; this occasion, in particular, fills him with an uncertain sort of fear that he hasn't felt in years and has no intention of contemplating. He pushes it to the very back of his mind (in theory, at least) and does not so much as pause his widespread touchdowns. He gains on their assailants far too quickly, forced to hide behind - certainly not _in_ - the foliage while they settle in the boat and set to rowing - the sloshing of water echoing back and forth in his head. They arrive at the building in the center - and he should think it a shrine but for the unholy _wrongness_ of it. Perhaps a cult... Both bad.

Inu moves quickly once they enter the shrine, dashing across the improperly still water, red and far too thick but he doesn't dwell on it. The heavy pit in his stomach develops a pulse - almost like he can feel his intestines squirming.

Tera says nothing and Inu doesn't bother to check on his emotionless comrade - though if he did he would have been disturbed at the way Tera quivered.

He dares to step onto the shrine's border - taking great care in making absolutely sure not to make a sound. Each step becomes more arduous, and with each step the urge to turn and run growing - to the point all he could hear were his own thoughts screaming in his ear-

He peers through a low hole in the shouji doors:

- and Dajimu falls on her back, cracked open and hollowed dry - but he doesn't focus on her.

_It_ is staring at him. A body of caustic orange, and eyes; burning red in the dim light, jagged slits for pupils like every pain and ache he would wish to forget.

"Ah," It drolls, voice soft, "We have... a visitor..." The head lolls about, but he focuses on the eyes; maddeningly spinning in their sockets, rolling back in it's head and out from the lower lids. His body is not responding. All he sees is red.

He vaguely feels something impact, "_a hand?_" he wonders. He sees the Shrine fall from his vision, and Tera standing in his place. In that instant he realizes, just as Tera does; someone must report back, and Inu has the best chance.

A pellet of burning red obliterates the mask - caves in Tera's skull. His eyes turning to ash and pouring out their sockets before he whole appendage spills around his feet; still glowing with faint embers - and Inu takes the sacrifice to heart. He rolls to his feet and runs - channeling so much chakra that even to his now exposed sharingan the world blurs unrecognizably. The water behind thrown up in a harsh spray, and as he reaches the shore the loamy earth craters under his feet.

_Inu flees for hours on end - he is not afraid, he is... ashamed. He sees Obito in his minds eye; his annoyingly endearing smile full of broken teeth._

Inu stands at attention as Sarutobi debriefs him - pointedly ignoring the looks on the aged mans face as his skin gradually pales to near white. The Hokage fumbles with his pipe, and at the end of his recollection Inu takes a step back to allow the man just a bit more atmospheric privacy - doing his best to blend into the background as the man stands and paces - obviously realizing something that Inu does not.

"Dismissed" Sarutobi mutters under his breath - and Inu spends one last second wondering if he should say something reassuring. Certainly not, he thinks shortly, bowing low and promptly leaving the office. He clears the doors before his legs give out.

The Hokage flops down in his chair, massaging his temples with his fingers. He eyes focus on his wrinkled palms. He makes a slow and gentle fist, almost taken aback at the hard lines and shadows age has created. He leans further back, drooping his head over the high back.

"Fetch me Jiraiya-" he mumbles tiredly, "-whatever means necessary."

"Her."

"Yes." Jiraiya says resolutely, hands at his sides in a rigor-mortis brand of attention. The blond bombshell at his side looks intensely interested in the crystal ball perched on the Hokage's desk. She does not appear to be listening.

Sarutobi slaps down Jiraiya's thirty-page debrief with a grunt. "Let me get this straight... You found... Her. You found her, and nothing else."

"Yes." He confirms with an involuntary twitch. She twirls a glass globe around in her fingers, entranced. Sarutobi does not remember her moving.

"You return from a mission that has cost me six lives, cost Oni-no-kuni near a _fourth_ it's population, with a woman you found in a shrine dedicated to..." He consults the mission statement on his desk for a moment, popping back up with a grimace; "'_cleavage_' - before I continue would you care to elaborate?"

"I uh..." His shoulder twitches. He looks up and to the left.

"...Vague statements aside, you find an unidentified woman inside a shrine dedicated to _something_, surrounded by..." He consults the documents once again, "'a bunch of dead people', and your first thought is to return with said woman-" He pauses at a sharp crack, glancing over to see the her nudging his broken crystal ball under the carpet. He sighs.

"Your first thought is to return with said woman, and nothing else of value, two weeks _after_ schedule.

"... The uh..." Jiraiya clears his throat awkwardly, "The countryside is... beautiful this time of year?"

Sarutobi stares at him flatly. Jiraiya twitches again.

"Hebi, Tora, escort this young woman to interrogation. Have Ibiki prep room twelve, soft tactics."

"n-No!" Jiraiya blurts suddenly, shocking the Hokage into near submission with his uncharacteristic outburst. "I - I mean... Let's not be hasty here, there's really, no need for _that_. She's not hurting anyone, I mean..." He points at her, the blond trying to scrape the last of the shards of glass under the carpet with her fingernails. "Look at her! What's she 'gonna know, right?"

Sarutobi eyes his flustered student with no small bit of concern - not bothering to point out that the sudden lack of respect of the chain-of-command. He has never seen Jiraiya so uneasy. Not when he caught wind of Orochimaru's betrayal. Not when he discovered that Tsunade had taken up drinking. Not hunched over his student's casket.

"...Ah." He amends, "...Yes, perhaps this young woman should be on her way... Hebi, escort her to registration. See if you can't find her somewhere to stay for the time being."

Hebi flashes down from somewhere or other, opens the door and gestures. Waiting patiently for about five seconds - long enough for it to become apparent that the blond is far to absorbed in gazing at Sarutobi's hat - before padding over and gently leading the vapid woman off the premises.

Sarutobi waits until the door closes, turning a heavy expression towards Jiraiya, who was already regaining a bit of his color. He flicks a hand and his guard vacates - immediately afterwards activating the web of security seals inscribed on every inch of his office.

"...Well?" He says expectantly.

Jiraiya shakes himself loose a bit, looking unfocused. A good while after the moment that a response would fit snugly in the conversation, he grunts. A confused, bored sort of noise, that for so many, many reasons pisses Sarutobi off a bit.

"What aren't you telling me, Jiraiya?"

"Nothing." The toad sage replies grumpily.

"Bullshit."

"Of the highest caliber, sensei."

"What aren't you telling me." It is not a question.

"Can't tell you."

"_Why _can't you tell me."

"Can't tell you."

"You can't tell me why you can't tell me?"

"No."

Sarutobi frowns, the expression feels off on his normally benign face - stressing wrinkles not nearly as developed as his smile. "What is preventing you?"

"Can't tell you."

"What _can_ you tell me?"

"Can't tell you."

"Will you?"

"Won't. With damn good reason."

The conversation trails off into uncomfortable silence.

"Jiraiya." Sarutobi drawls, speaking as though he were dealing with a child. He draws a leisurely breath from his ebony cob-pipe, "What is your silence worth?"

He responds with little hesitation. "Everything."

"Oh?" He says genially, "How about your fingernails?"

"Them too."

"Your kneecaps?"

"Yep."

"Your pride?"

"My what?"

"Enough." His voice is steel. "Tell me why shouldn't I hand you to Ibiki."

"You won't, no matter what I do or don't say, sensei." Jiraiya responds with an impudent if restrained grin.

Sarutobi's frown cracks and he sighs. "...Well then... What shall we do about this?" he muses, drawing another breath of fragrant smoke.

Jiraiya stands silently, an expression Sarutobi has come to associate with intense thought exchanged with his normally lax expression.

"...The girl," Jiraiya states roughly ten seconds later, "Don't look into her. Don't touch her - don't _let_ anyone touch her, _especially _don't _order _anyone to touch her. The same goes for that crusty old bat Danzo... Honestly, I'd prefer it if you didn't even look at her... Don't think about her either."

"So it's her then, is it?" The Hokage asks rhetorically, and his student adopts a worrisome expression.

"The less you know, the better."

Sarutobi empties his pipe into the ashtray on his desk, the hollow clicks serving to further calm his frayed nerves.

"I trust your judgment, Jiraiya." Sarutobi mutters, and Jiraiya near collapses into himself with relief.

After a lengthy pause he questions under his breath, "Should I be worried?"

"Very."

"... This is certainly a fine mess you've got yourself in." Sarutobi grumbles with a notable lack of humor. "And I expect you to replace my crystal ball."

**Chapter 2: Hebi**

**~:~**

Hebi coaxes the airheaded woman out of the office. Guides her down the hall to the stairwell, pointedly ignoring the various noises of intrigue emanating from the blond, like "Ooooh" and "Haaaa?" and the sharp, surprised "Ah!" when she witnessed a secretary utilize a stapler.

Hebi is a little concerned that she'll need to physically carry the woman down the stairs with the mental prowess she's ascertained as of yet. Luckily, after the first three steps it becomes readily apparent that there will be no problems and Hebi removes the hand on the girls shoulder in favor of taking the lead. She steps out on the second floor, pleased that she was followed.

"Take a seat. This may take a while." Hebi informs the still vacant-looking bombshell, who, after turning intensely blue eyes at her to nod takes a seat in one of the several chairs lining the wall across from the front desk. Hebi nods back (though not quite sure why) and pads over to the desk.

"I need a civilian request form, single, female, of age."

The mousy looking secretary pushes back her rolling chair, turning to flip through the middle drawer of an enormous file cabinet. Hebi turn back to make sure her charge hasn't wandered off.

The woman is still in her seat, holding a stapler in her hands like it is the epitome of all things good and holy. Hebi sighs.

The secretary returns, holding a thin stack of paper. "Here you are, form 17A, adult citizenship request - civilian."

"Ah." Hebi responds absently. Walking the several feet back to the woman, who, it seemed, had _severely_ broken the stapler, and was hunched over it, staring as if it were the freshly charred remains of her inner child. Hebi snaps her fingers in an irritated fashion.

"Here, here. Fill these out. Tell me when you're done."

The blond looks up and takes the stack with a blank expression - as though the fill-in-the-blank formatted paper was not simple enough. Hebi produces a pen from somewhere and the girl/woman takes it as well, the same uncomprehending, glazed sort of look on her face.

Several seconds pass with no movement.

"Would you prefer I assist you?" Hebi asks lowly.

"Yes. Please." She chirps, handing the forms and pen to Hebi, who reluctantly takes them.

"... Name?" Hebi starts, pen poised to write.

"...Hah?"

"What is your name?" Hebi ventures uncertainly.

"Uh..."

"Do you know your name?"

"Yes, yes... no."

"... This happens more often than you'd think." Hebi quips momentarily, checking the box exclusively for amnesiacs or as-of-yet nameless children and orphans.

"Date of birth?"

"... Ha?"

_check._

"Former residence/citizenship?"

"..."

_Check._

"Former/Present Occupation?"

"Devourer of all things."

_...Check._

"Reason for application?" Hebi doesn't even wait for a response.

_Check._

"References?"

_check._

"Estimated length of stay?"

"Until I can't anymore."

Hebi puts down 'indefinite' and hands the mostly blank second sheet of paper over.

"Just sign this-" Hebi points where to stem the inevitable question, "-And I'll turn them in."

The blond looks at her blankly.

"Ah... Just make an 'X'."

"..."

Hebi draws an 'x' with her finger on the dotted line, sighing in relief as the girl/woman signs as shown. She takes the form and hands it over to the secretary, who look slightly annoyed but nonetheless takes it and moves somewhere or other. She returns shortly with another sheet and hands it over with a limp-wristed hand. Hebi sends it a glance and pockets it.

"Until you choose to register a name... '1611' will be used in place on any legal documents." Hebi drones for procedures sake, well aware that the blond had already forgotten.

She walks to the stairwell, gesturing for the other woman/girl to follow.

"I just need to take you to assisted living. It's not far."

As it turns out it's just far enough for '1611' to break and subsequently weep over several equally mundane objects. Hebi takes it all in stride, and resorts to bodily carrying the woman across the street to the adjacent building when she becomes infatuated with a particularly fluffy cloud.

Hebi plops the vapid woman down in a seat. Turning to walk to front desk only for the man behind it to stand up before she can take her first step. He glances down at something behind the counter for a moment, before looking back up and far more sure of himself.

"We have an apartment all set up for you, miss." He says with a good bit of possibly earned authority, first directed at the blond, but after a long moment of silence turns to Hebi, who most certainly doesn't sigh.

"Documentation?" Hebi asks succinctly.

"All here" The man responds quickly, pulling a thick stack of paper and passing it to her. Hebi takes the stack and signs the form he produces shortly, coaxing the blond into placing another 'X' with little trouble.

"... Come on." Hebi intones, leaving; the woman/girl following with a satisfying promptness.

Hebi once again is forced to carry her, and after checking the location stated on the front most page bounds onto a rooftop and across the manmade canopy with unerring speed. It takes around thirty seconds to arrive at the designated complex. A roughly square and fairly tall building - by her estimates around five stories. Hebi plops the woman/girl down directly before the main entrance - nudging her inside before she can become distracted once again.

Hebi promptly pulls the official documentation from her cloak and hands it over to the clerk at the front desk. He looks surprised for a moment, before schooling his expression and unlocking a drawer on his bottom left, coming back up with two keys on a ring. He holds them out and Hebi takes them, planting them in one of the many pockets on her person and guiding the blond to the stairwell with a hand on her shoulder.

The stairs again pose no significant obstacle, again. Probably because there are little things of interest, Hebi muses. She exits at the top floor and passes down the hall to the gilded door at the end - pulling the key from a pocket and swinging it open.

The room glows through the doorway. The floor a tiled silver, with so much sheen Hebi knows with certainty it is polished. Further in the tile turns to blue carpet with a massive four-poster bed looming in the distance. The kitchen is to the left; an assortment of pots and pans hanging from hooks on the ceiling, blue-cracked marbletop counters underneath glimmering under the open windows. A curving sofa rests to the right, centered around a glass coffee table and facing an inordinately large television. A doorframe in the far corner leads inside a partitioned bathroom, and though she cannot see inside she doesn't doubt its luxury... It is the largest and most well furnished studio apartment she's ever seen. Hebi has only ever seen her own - though, and since she had been on-duty for the past month the memory is faded; full of harsh whines and static. She mildly doesn't want to go back.

"Your apartment." Hebi drones, a dry sort of look growing behind her mask at the suite laid out before her. The bombshell bounds into the room, unguarded amazement abundant in her every step, and especially in her wide eyes. She makes more noises that Hebi tunes out, still in her own brand of quiet disbelief that this girl/woman gets the most delicious apartment she's ever seen in what must be one of the most reputable complexes in Konoha, for an unspecified amount of time, on the Hokage's personal tab. The lavish sort of gift she would expect for royalty or nobility; even foreign diplomats, though they would likely receive more temporary housing.

The blond leaps from the far end and beams at her, and though Hebi tries her best to remain detachedly indifferent she cannot help the way her lips gently curve beneath the mask.

Against her better judgment she questions "Are you going to be able to take care of yourself?"

"Hm?" Says the blond, still smiling.

"...There is likely food in the fridge." Hebi tries.

The girl blinks.

Hebi glances at the appliance and points, "Silver box. That's the fridge."

_Blink._

"It may have food."

... _Blink_.

"You really don't know what I'm talking about?" A hint of exasperation.

She shakes her head, still smiling.

Hebi sighs. Registration took far, far less than she anticipated, so she supposes she has time for some final clarification.

Hebi walks the girl/woman to the center of the apartment and begins gesturing around, thoughtlessly skipping over a good portion of the room. She starts with the item the girl seems most fixated on.

"...The couch... for sitting." Hebi adds as an afterthought and feels completely ridiculous, but at the look of admiration on the girls face she regains some of her confidence. She moves on to the bare basics.

"The fridge," Hebi says, pulling the top section open and stepping back to allow the blond to rummage through. It is empty against Hebi's expectations - and she immediately knows that someone will need to provide food, because her charge most certainly cannot. "It keeps food cool to prevent spoiling. You... eat, the food. You know 'eat,' yes?" Hebi ventures, miming the action as well as she can with a mask. The blond nods.

Hebi eases the girl back so she can open the freezer. "Keeps select foods much colder... " She trails off at the sight of the girl exhaling fog into the appliance and trying to catch it with her hands. "Ah, " she starts indulgently, "The lungs are kept warm and moist by the body, so when you breathe out," Hebi leans forwards and exhales, a white plume emanating from the slits in her mask, and the other girl beams even more. "the air is saturated; the cold of the freezer condenses that moisture into mist."

The blond adopts a look of unadulterated wonder and flashes Hebi the brightest smile she's ever seen. Though small and hesitant, Hebi again smiles back. Quite certain that her explanation was far beyond the girls comprehension.

"Come, there are only a few things left."

Hebi coaxes her away from the freezer with a bit of effort.

"The sink." Hebi drones, casually batting the faucet on and off as a demonstration. "You..." She thinks for a moment. "... wash... things. " Hebi finishes lamely and moves on.

"A bed. You rest on it when you're tired." Hebi says, more casually than she intended. Though the other occupant doesn't notice the drop in formalities, more occupied with prodding the sheets with a puzzled expression.

"...You lie underneath the sheets." Hebi takes a guess as to the problem. The blond hops onto the bed, still slightly confused.

After a moment of silence Hebi speaks up. "What don't you understand?"

"Why do I use this?"

"...When you are tired, lying on something soft or otherwise comfortable makes sleep more pleasant and much easier to come by. 'Beds' provide this material."

"...Tired? Sleep?"

"You don't understand 'tired' or 'sleep'?" Hebi asks, honestly surprised.

She shakes her head, hair falling into further disarray.

Hebi contemplates how to explain 'tired.'

"'...Tired' is when you become weak, and your eyes want to close. When you allow them to close, you sleep. You sleep to become strong again." Hebi tries her best to keep it simple, and the blond nods thoughtfully.

Hebi turns her attention to the bathroom, and immediately thinks '_I do not want to explain this'._ However the other occupant is already by her side, staring. Eyes wide and brimming with anticipation. Hebi withholds a groan.

Blond Bombshell drags her in by the wrist, stopping to stare the moment she sets foot inside. Hebi takes the silent cue.

"The shower. Used for cleaning ones-self. Turning the knobs releases water, the left knob is hot water, the right is cold water." She turns to check for comprehension, and luckily the other girl seems intrigued enough to prolong the inevitable for a good while.

"Would you prefer I show you?"

_nod._

Hebi opens the sliding glass door and turns on the water, a sharp "_Ah_." coming from behind. She smiles at the naivety. Hebi adjusts the temperature to an acceptable level and grabs the girls hand, wheedling it under the water raining from the massive hexagonal head mounted to the ceiling. Her face lights up.

"How do I use this... 'shower'?" She gushes.

Hebi smiles again and hopes it doesn't become a habit. "You remove all clothes and trinkets and step into the water." She tries, glancing over once again to find the woman/girl completely stripped and about as curvaceous as she expected.

Hebi sighs and steps back, motioning for the girl to enter - she promptly does just that, a contented groan under her breath. Hebi gently slides the opaque door closed, pulling a towel from a cabinet and setting it down on the toilet - which she has no intention of discussing.

"There's a towel... here," Hebi says, tactfully avoiding the word, "You dry off with it. ...You can manage from here, yes?" She asks, keeping the uncertainty from her voice.

"Mnnnnn..." the shower moans.

"Good." Hebi assumes. She makes to quickly leave but a hand on her shoulder stops her. She turns to see the girl's head poking out from the shower, hair completely wet and a content expression.

"Thank you." She says genuinely. Then, after a moment of idleness she leaps out and embraces Hebi, who returns the gesture with an awkward pat on the back, trying to ignore the water seeping into her uniform.

The girl hops back into the shower and Hebi leaves, near positive that someone will need to check back sooner rather than later.

~:~

Hebi returns to the Hokage's office immediately, but as she moves to reclaim her portion of the guard formation Sarutobi interjects, quitting any paperwork he was previously involved with to roughly command;

"Hebi, at attention."

Hebi immediately drops down from the ceiling, releasing the concealing genjutsu and standing before his desk; back rigid and arms at her sides.

"Sir!"

_"...Perhaps I was too hasty."_ Sarutobi thinks, sighing after a moment, relaxing his previously tense frame to slump over his high-backed chair. He resists the urge to light up his pipe once more. The wait had made him edgy - though provided no excuse for snapping at his subordinates.

"At ease."

Hebi does not budge.

Sarutobi takes what he can get. "Tell me what you think of her." He asks seriously.

"...Sir?"

"New information. Impressions. Opinions. Threat assessments. Anything_._" He rattles.

Hebi resists the urge to question authority. "She was assigned number '1611'-"

"Ah, that reminds me," Sarutobi unexpectedly interrupts with little aplomb, "Jiraiya registered her under the name 'Naruko.'"

"Naruko, sir?"

"Yes... I don't understand his preferences as well as I thought I did." He finishes morbidly.

"... Though Naruko possessed no recollection of her past, given her well adjusted behavior and speech patterns, I do not believe she has memory loss or repressed memories. I do not know the intimate details of her previous... situation, however, from my impression, I believe that rather than once possessing the knowledge, she was raised in an isolated environment, and simply never informed of matters outside her concern. This would also explain her fascination with modern technology... among other things."

Hebi pauses for a moment, tossing possible word choices back and forth. "Naruko seemed... Innocent. She possesses an adequate vocabulary to communicate, though lacks a basic comprehension of worldly items and... human functions - I cannot guess as to why. She is eager and quick to learn - though near incapable of multitasking..."

Hebi pauses and considers what she has seen of the girl:

_-Naruko scuttles back to the center of the room, turning to beam with glowing blue eyes and Hebi cannot help the way she smiles in turn._

_-Naruko gazes up at the sky, arms extended and fascinated at the light peeking between her fingers. Hebi imagines she is trying to grab the clouds._

_-Naruko leans over the pulped stapler, hands jittering with uncertainty and Hebi does not try to understand._

"I found no evidence that indicates she poses any significant threat."

"... No threat." Sarutobi muses to himself, slightly concerned that the information just presented to him contradicts in its entirety everything Jiraiya has half-told him. Perhaps the situation is not as dire as he was lead to believe; Hebi certainly is an excellent judge of character.

"Ah-" Hebi continues, the Hokage's vacant stare leaving her slightly flustered. "-I recommend checking on her soon - by proxy" she adds quickly, "she may not understand enough to fend for herself."

_'...Check on her?' _Sarutobi thinks, considering the pros and cons of doing the exact opposite of what Jiraiya asked him... Though it is not him _'looking into'_ her, after all. And he would never dream of hurting her. Just a friendly gesture, sending someone to (quietly) assist the young woman, if needed. And should that assistant report to him any unusual findings, well, it would merely be an... unintended side effect.

"Hebi, I have a new assignment for you."

~:~

Hebi shuffles awkwardly from foot to foot, the old nervous habit resurfacing without the familiar weight of her mask. She caresses her scarred cheek, denying the hind of embarrassment bubbling up in her stomach. She tells herself, such emotions are best left in her youth - and she'll be damned if she frets over her appearance.

She pulls a key-ring from her pocket and unlocks the door; taking a hesitant step into the room. The lights are still on; she can hear the water running.

Hebi sighs and walks to the bathroom, idly brushing her fingers against the wall for as long as the structure allows. Steam lazes from the bathroom in idle wisps and Hebi quirks her lips.

"Still in the shower?" She asks rhetorically, more to announce her presence than for a response. She passes through the open doorframe, sees more steam pouring out over the top of the panes of sliding glass. Hebi is quite uncertain of the proper course of action - it is no doubt impolite to intrude on one's shower, however it has been several hours since she last saw Naruko, and she knows from the lack of disturbance in the rest of the apartment that the girl has not left the room since.

She shifts her weight from foot to foot once more, flattening the end of her wrapped hair that feels odd not tucked under her clothes.

Hebi inhales and cracks open the sliding door.

"Nar... are you... alright?" She asks hesitantly, dropping the name as she remembers the girl does not yet know it. Several seconds pass with no response; she opens the door further, daring to glance in. Her heart jumps into her throat when she sees Naruko on her back - several equally dismal scenarios flashing through her mind - but then she notices the gentle rising and falling of her chest, and the curvature of her lips. She fell asleep.

"... you had me worried." Hebi mutters to herself. She turns off the miraculously still hot water and steps into the shower, padding over to gently shake the girl by her shoulders.

"Oi... Oooi... Oooooi... " Already tired of using vulgar noises Hebi uses the girl's new name anyways. "Naruko... Naruko..." She presses her index finger to the girls neck to be sure, finding the pulse thankfully normal.

"Narukooo... wake up... Naruko?"

Naruko cracks a bleary eye open for a moment, the strain becoming too much she closes it again, plopping her slightly raised head back onto damp tile.

"... Tired?" Hebi asks quietly, the barest hint of amusement in her voice.

"mntmmn... " She moans, drawing her legs up a bit.

"Can you stand?"

Naruko is already fast asleep. Sprawled out in the shower. Naked. Hebi sighs.

She dries the girl off as best she can while simultaneously holding her up - slightly more difficult than she initially imagined but she manages. She tucks Naruko into bed, the girl subconsciously nuzzling herself deeper into the sheets.

Hebi turns and ambles towards the door, taking one last moment to pull the silk comforter a bit higher up the girls bare shoulder.

She slows to a stop after two steps, knowing that should she leave either her cot in AnBu-HQ or her tatami mat will be where she sleeps. She pictures her apartment. Walls drab and rooms bare. The mental image full of inconsistencies and warped corners - she can barely remember that place, doesn't even know if her rent was appropriated on schedule. But she knows very well the stodgy corridors of headquarters, always unlit and always cold. Her mattress mottled with congealed blood, left unwashed from her own wounds. A common practice of elites but few embraced the practice as much as she did. Each stain its own lesson, its own memory, and she learned very well.

The coppery smell burns fresh in her mind, strong enough to crinkle her nose - and were she not surrounded by opulent comfort it wouldn't bother her; but it does. More than she cares to mention.

Hebi showers three days worth of sweat from her skin, dries with a microfiber towel, turns off the lights and curls up on the couch in a borrowed robe. Her dreams are not mistakes.

~:~

Hebi wakes, and, taking her (what may well equate to) government-mandated vacation to heart allows herself to wake slowly; a gradual increase in awareness as she takes whatever time she needs to blink the weariness from her eyes. A lackadaisical sort of laziness that she hasn't indulged in for over three years. The feeling so foreign that it takes particular effort not to leap to her feet that very moment.

Already, though, the contrast forces itself on her. The air, the color, the sound, the smell; every sense telling her _'well isn't this so much better'_ - and Hebi reluctantly agrees. She breathes in a deep breath, pushing her warm cheek into the cooler cushion beneath her. The thought of the oppressive heat just outside makes the atmosphere even more comfortable.

Eventually, however, the incessant nagging feeling that she is wasting time forces her to stand. Naruko is still asleep, that much she knows from a single glance. Though turned on her other side and exposed down to the curve of her hips, the same, blissfully relaxed expression is still on her face, and Hebi instantly doesn't want to wake her.

She didn't anticipate staying, and thus didn't prepare so is forced to change into her grungy old clothes, which she didn't wash in her spontaneity. They feel horrible, a grungy sort of scratching against her once-clean skin. She vows to pick up several changes of her standard jonin uniform as she ventures out, locking the door behind her.

~:~

It is a surreal sort of experience. No one recognizes her at the market. Each merchant treats her as a new customer, giving her exorbitant discounts and dazzling (-ly fake) smiles - several toss in free extras. Though rather than drawing joy from the friendly gestures, they serve to remind her how far into anonymity she has sunk - so far that they do not know her face. No one knows her face, neither does she know theirs. No one knows her name, and though she would scarcely admit it she cannot declare otherwise.

But Hebi buys food, she tries her best to convincingly smile back - and with years of training under her belt she fakes very well. The bag at her side grows larger and larger, bulging with what must be double her money's worth - and she doesn't doubt that should she return the next day that the prices would be slightly higher, and then higher still.

Hebi ends her outing with a carton of store-bought milk and a bag full of still steaming take out. If she remembers right it is from what used to be her favorite restaurant - either way it smells indescribably good compared to her usual nutritious and bland diet and it takes a good bit of self control not to gorge herself where she stands.

She stays strong, satisfying her urges with punctuated sniffs of the meal all the way up the stairwell. Hebi pads down the hall and unlocks the door with her lighter hand - moving into the cool apartment lightly and setting the three bags on the counter.

Only then does she notice the third occupant of the room. Jiraiya of the Sannin sits on the couch and sends her such an awful surprised expression she isn't quite sure how to respond: both from shock of seeing one of his status and from fear of aggravating him further.

He is the one to break the silence.

~:~

**Chapter 3: Naruko**

~:~

"Did that old monkey listen to a _word _I said?" Jiraiya growls, though the intimidation factor is lost with the look of barely repressed fear on his face - and again, Hebi is completely unsure of how to react in the face of this uncomfortable Sannin. She also doesn't know what he's talking about, and is hungry. And melancholy, a little, which only makes her hungrier.

"... Sir?" Hebi half-asks after a long pause, her default level of near reverence (normally reserved for Sarutobi) toned down to a merely an unhealthy respect. She, while not quite saluting, doesn't move much save for the twitch in the direction of the food, that she would really like to eat. Hebi considers that a salute enough.

"I tell that crotchety-asshole one goddamn thing and he goes and does the exact opposite," Jiraiya whispers harshly as opposed to raising his voice, she assumes he doesn't want to wake Naruko.

"I thought we were finally connecting for fucks sake, 'hey old man, don't even look at her' 'sure thing sonny boy, I trust you' the whole goddamn shebang; and he goes and pulls this shit." He finishes with an exasperated dread, and Hebi can hear his nerves snapping from across the room. Jiraiya massages his temples for a moment, glancing over to quietly ask,

"Name?"

"Hebi" She answers promptly, even though he cannot legitimately pull rank his presence is oddly humbling, skittery mood aside.

"Well Hebi," He says tiredly, "Just what did Sensei dearest tell you?"

"That's classified." Hebi ripostes automatically.

"...Ah right... _nondisclosure_... " He grunts, as though clinically unfamiliar with the word. "Rank?"

"Jonin." Hebi answers lowly, forgoing her show of half-respect and unloading two of the bags into the refrigerator in an unhurried fashion. Jiraiya slumps back on the couch and rubs at his eyes.

"Are you ROOT?" He questions sordidly, Hebi pauses for a moment before continuing to load the fridge.

"No." She says dismissively.

"What color are Danzo's underwear?" Jiraiya asks suddenly, his tone belying the absurdity of the question. Hebi most certainly doesn't smile.

"I haven't the slightest."

"Guess."

Hebi does so out of respect. "White."

"Show me your shoulder."

The sudden authority in his voice forces her ingrained _'how high?'_ reaction. "Which one?"

"Left."

She does.

"So you're not ROOT. Lucky you." He comments dryly.

"Sir?" Hebi inquires, pulling down her sleeve and placing the last of the raw food into the fridge.

"Well, If you were in ROOT, you would report everything of consequence to that human-mildew hybrid Danzo, and I'd have to kill you for it."

Hebi missteps - it is not every day that one of the legendary three casually threatens death after all. She notices now the peculiar echo of her footsteps; knows that there is a privacy barrier set up, has been since the moment she set foot in the apartment. Knows with horrifying clarity that should she have left his questions unanswered he would have lopped off her head without a second thought. Hebi shows no outward reaction other than the momentary stumble and continues walking after - with the intention to wake Naruko but Jiraiya stands from his recline and clears his throat - expression disconcerting. He towers over her.

"I'm sure it's unnecessary for me to say this by now... but, just so there are no misunderstandings... I don't know what you're here for, and I intend to find out one way or another - but I will tell you this; Whatever you learn, whatever you see, whatever you hear - you say nothing. Not to the Monkey, not to your comrades, not even to your hairbrush when you sing sweet nothings in the shower."

He steps forward and Hebi steps back.

"And if you ever, _ever _cause her trouble, you'll probably die. A lot of people'll probably die. An' then I'll have to cover it up; find the remains, dispose of them, extinguish fires, silence next of kin, the whole nine yards - and I'm very busy. Are we clear?"

"Crystal." Hebi warbles. The man before her, while still speaking calmly and casually, is just frightening enough that she snaps off a quick salute.

Jiraiya nods and steps around her, making for the door only to pause halfway through the frame.

"One last piece of advice." From the tone of his voice Hebi knows it is advice he expects to be followed.

"Keep her away from Uchiha... " And with that, Jiraiya closes the door behind him, Hebi collapsing into herself in relief. She takes a moment to catch her breath and pads over to wake the soundly sleeping Naruko, now somehow facing the foot of the bed. Hebi gently shakes her exposed shoulder. For around a minute, it slowly becoming apparent that the girl was simply not going to wake up from polite prodding. With the very stern warning not a minute before Hebi knows very well that 'shaking harder' and 'yelling' are not the answers.

She instead grabs one of the several boxes of takeout and opens it near her nose, fanning the smell with her free hand, Naruko immediately groans and cracks a bleary eye.

"I come bearing gifts" Hebi says dryly. Naruko yawns and stretches her arms over her head, smiling sleepily.

"It smells good..." Naruko moans.

"... Yes, yes it does."

"Wait..." She murmurs after a moment, "How do you eat?"

~:~

"Almost... almost... ah..." The noodle drops into her lap.

"You're getting better," Hebi comments over her box of fried rice with her best reassuring tone, "remember, with smaller foods focus less on power and more on keeping the fingers steady." Naruko nods and turns down to stare intensely at the steaming bowl of ramen, snapping her chopsticks menacingly. She catches a noodle and pulls it from the broth with a squinting expression - slowly but steadily lifting it to her mouth. Hebi actually pauses mid-chew to watch.

"Ah... al... almost... there!" Naruko cheers, Hebi claps dryly, half suspecting a follow up question. It comes a moment later.

"... now what?"

~:~

Hebi never considered that at one point in her life she would instruct someone in the fine art contracting the esophagus - she was also confused as to why it had only just become a problem but didn't delve too much into the matter.

Naruko reclines on the couch, lazing about in a manner normally reserved for extremely pampered cats - Hebi assumes the girl will remain in coma-esque position for quite some time. She exits and locks the door quietly.

~:~

Hebi returns some odd hour later with a bag of government issue clothes under her arm, and upon entering the apartment is near positive she is hallucinating.

The room is alive. The counter, the floors, the ceiling, the appliances, all replaced with masses of flesh, soft edged and pulsing, lined with protruding off-blue arteries, thick as rope and sleek as glass. She turns her gaze and the couch stares back at her with a single bloodshot eye; the organ situated on the back. The eight or so supporting feet lined with taloned fingers, each digging into the floor such that brilliant red fluid gushes around the spokes. The air conditioner above protrudes from the ceiling, a bulbous maw of spindly white teeth, wheezing white smog like a chronic smoker.

Hebi steps backwards out of the apartment and closes the door, checking for genjutsu and lightly whacking herself in the head. She takes a deep breath and opens it once more.

The couch now has a mouth; Hebi calmly sidesteps the ooze it spews at her, and, ignoring the furious hiss coming from the hall, shrugs, and wanders in; closing the door behind her and ignoring how squishy the doorknob is. She steps over to the couch, the soft floor exuding a warmth she feels through her steel-lined shoes.

As Hebi remembers, Naruko is still on the couch, looking just as blissfully relaxed as she left her - as though completely unaware of the teethed cushions gnawing thoughtfully on her side. Hebi gently, or as gently as she can manage, pries Naruko from the furnishing, and sweeps off most of the saliva with the back of her hand.

With an amount of level-headedness that surprises Hebi herself, she loops Naruko's arm around her neck and half carries half drags the girl from the room, forcing the door open when it becomes apparent that it merged with the frame. The couch does not try to dissolve them, though it shoots her a mean glare as she habitually turns to shut the door behind her.

Hebi heaves a peculiar sigh and pads down the hall - noting the hole in the floor, edge singed and from what she can see, going down through every story and deep into the infrastructure.

Hebi suspires and heads for the Hokage tower, only to pause;

_"-whatever you see, whatever you hear - you say nothing. Not to the Monkey, not to your comrades, not even to your hairbrush when you sing sweet nothings in the shower."_

Jiraiya's warning echoes and she shivers just a bit. A series of considerations and scenarios flash through her mind. If she reports whatever the hell this was to the Hokage, there damn sure would be an in-depth investigation on the cause, which would be Naruko. And, reputation as the friendly neighborhood village aside, Naruko _would_ be indoctrinated into Konoha permanently, and, given that it took less than an hour to convert her entire room to such an extent, studied extensively.

_"And if you ever, ever cause her trouble, you'll probably die. A lot of people'll probably die. An' then I'll have to cover it up; find the remains, dispose of them, extinguish fires, silence next of kin, the whole nine yards - and I'm very busy. Are we clear?"_

Konoha creed one: _The Village comes first, no exceptions._

Hebi props Naruko against a wall, leaves, and returns with a bag of sloshing glass bottles and a matchbox.

~:~

Naruko lies flopped on a chair, Hebi stands at the front desk, the man behind it eyeing her with a skeptical expression. Hebi explains to him how the very, very nice apartment Naruko received not a day before caught fire, and incinerated it and several adjacent rooms. As she explicitly and convincingly lies to his face, he nods punctually, as though he believes with all his soul every word out of her mouth. He also shoots Naruko several glances, Hebi isn't sure why, but, after every shifty glance in her direction he appears more and more trusting, agreeable, and a little twitchy.

As Hebi concludes her story/alibi, the man leaves to riffle though a cabinet drawer, and returns with a thin stack of papers. Hebi co-signs, wakes Naruko for her signature, and leaves. The whole affair taking an expedient five minutes, and as Hebi carries Naruko out the building she swears she can hear weeping.

~:~

Apartment number two: about as nice as apartment number one, Hebi thinks dryly. About the same size, and though less colorful possessing of the same commodities. The kitchen to the right, even larger bed looming in the distance, couch and table in the center, bathroom to the left. The same situation save for the fact that the complex was completely uninhabited save for them... and Jiraiya, she notes, as she turns after dropping the girl on the bed.

Jiraiya reclines at the table, nursing a cup of saké. He crooks a finger at her. "Have a seat."

Hebi does. The man produces a second glass, fills it leisurely and slides it to her the short distance across the table.

"Bet yer' wondering how I found you."

"I-"

"Sure you are," He interrupts, and jauntily tosses back his glass, smashing it down with a grunt. "Put a security seal on that last place; alerted me when it 'caught fire', nice, by the way." He adds dryly, Hebi swishes her drink around uncertainly. "Certainly not the best job I've seen, but it was easy enough to cover - just put a black ops beacon in there and _bam_-" He smacks his glass on the table again, making Hebi recoil at the sudden noise. "-allathesudden nobody saw anything - take a drink would you? You're making me feel uncomfortable."

Hebi quirks an eye at him, down at the saké, sighs, and indulges him.

"Good, yeah?" Jiraiya sloshes heartily as she sets down the glass, "From Iwa - and believe me when I say everything there _sucks_ but the saké. Seriously, just awful."

Hebi take another swig at his gesture, sets it down on the table with a sigh. Her second time in his presence has taken the edge off, and she says lowly, "I suppose I don't take to drinking as you do..."

Jiraiya waves her off good naturedly, refills both their cups with a pitcher he pulls from a side pocket.

"So, Tohiro down at A.L. tells me he's got a place off on the side, empty. A nasty prostitution bust a while back, place never filled up again. Tells me it's just _perfect _for such an 'accident' prone individual, since everyone avoids this... this _mythical_ complex."

"Ah... I was wondering why it was so... empt- empty..."

Hebi suddenly droops her head - shakes herself awake shoots a wary glance at Jiraiya, the man suddenly all to sober.

"Don't worry about it, just the drugs kicking in."

"You... you dru-" Hebi lurches in her involuntarily, and, taking a jerky breath, continues, "-drugged me?"

Jiraiya looks at her for the longest time. He downs the rest of the bottle in his hand. What remains of Hebi's strength is used keeping lucid - but her eyes close regardless. Jiraiya continues.

"Tohiro, down at Assisted Living, he got a promotion. A big, juicy promotion, he's off at the capital, sends his wife and kids a check every month on the dot - and letters, sayin' how much he loves them. An' even if they can't see him, they're happy; they can finally afford that new house they've been eyeing."

He swallows heavily; Hebi finally eases herself onto the table.

"I'm sorry to say, but... Naruko died in that fire; couldn't even find her body. And you, you did too. You weren't supposed to see that place, no one was... Damn thing would have reverted in a few days, ignoring the fact that it never should have happened in the first place... You would have told the old man, you're a good soldier, so of course you would have eventually... and I can't have that, too much on the line."

"...gr... thh..." Hebi slurs. Jiraiya chuckles humorlessly.

"You know, what I do, I do for the greater good..." He eyes the empty bottle in his hand, "For the _greater good _of Konoha... And for what it's worth, I'm sorry it had to end this way."

"I... ndrs..." Hebi resists no more - falling asleep not a second later.

"You died in service of your village."

Jiraiya crinkles his brow, pulls a second bottle from a pocket and downs it as well. He reaches over, makes to snap Hebi's neck.

"-Now, now, no need for that." A smooth voice interjects, and Jiraiya shudders.

"...She'll cause you a lot of problems if you let her live."

"I know." Naruko ripostes condescendingly, rising from her recline in a smooth motion. "... But I've grown rather fond of her." Naruko gently lifts Hebi's head from the table to caress her cheek with an amount of intimacy that makes Jiraiya squirm in his seat - or maybe it was her smile, scarlet red and full of unnatural points.

"I didn't know you were capable of 'fondness'" Jiraiya quips, doing his best to seem casual, he leans back in his seat, and Naruko takes the chair diagonal from him, resting Hebi's unconscious form on her shoulder.

"I wasn't, and I wouldn't be were it not for this place."

"...Does this mean you'll keep your end of the bargain?" He asks broadly. Naruko flashes that smile again, and he resists the urge to shiver. "I was my intention, to destroy you, and everyone in this pathetic place, once you completed my body and brought me here... but this is far too interesting to atomize. For the first time I can think clearly, without a damnable container. And for the first time, _those_ eyes, can no longer menace me... And... all this..." Naruko flexes her hand, he ignores the way his vision distorts with the movement, "All my power, compressed down and down... I have never felt so... Invincible. So what reason have I to burn this place?"

"Oh?" Jiraiya says before he can stop himself, "What about destruction for destruction's sake? I thought that was your thing."

"Are you disappointed, then? If it means so much to you I could-"

"No - no, not necessary." Jiraiya blurts shakily, eyeing the ball of caustic red that appeared in her outheld hand. Naruko closes her eyes for a long moment, the orb winking out of existence entirely.

She sighs and brushes a free strand of hair behind Hebi's ear with an unreadable expression. "...All this time spent eating you;" She comments softly, thoughtfully, "I never noticed how good you monkeys had it. The comfort, the opulence, the greed, the corruption. I could learn from your race. Even mindless, my rage was rational - but you humans, even self-aware are capable of such baseless fury. Your... entertaining, entertaining race. Perhaps I will keep my word after all... Yes..."

"... That'd be just super." Jiraiya says. Naruko nods absently, nuzzling into the crook of Hebi's neck with a groan.

"Though... She smells... _Delicious_..."

Jiraiya is fairly certain he understands the implication. He doesn't like it one bit.

"What happened to fondness and learning, Naruko?"

"... Just a bite will do..."

"If you bite her, she'll die. Then who will care for you?"

"Why, _you_ will. I thought that was clear."

"_Not I_," Jiraiya says, momentarily forgetting what he was talking to, "I've got shit to do."

"How vulgar." Naruko complains distractedly, taking a deep breath through her nostrils. "...I wonder, though... where do you 'ninja' keep your secrets... in the flesh? What secrets I could strip from her body..."

Jiraiya focuses on keeping Hebi uneaten. "Us ninja keep our secrets in our heads - where your teeth can't find them."

Naruko chuckles dryly. "My teeth are smarter than yours, ningen. It would be an interesting experience."

"I see lucidity has done wonders on your personality." Jiraiya complains in a half-bit attempt to change the subject.

"And I see drink has done wonders on yours - much easer now that you don't shake like an infant before me - like little... What is her name?"

"She's 'Hebi,' Naruko. 'Hebi.' And I drank because I killed a civilian, and thought I was going to kill a fellow ninja; I suppose you don't understand the sentiment." Jiraiya comments defensively.

"-Ah, yes, Hebi. It certainly is much easier to seem the fool, though." Naruko says, blatantly ignoring his implied question. "She is so comfortable around me... Do all humans take to pretty little fools?"

"Pretty little fools with awesome tits, of course they do. Though that applies slightly less in this situation."

Naruko finally takes a long lap at Hebi's neck. Jiraiya only sighs.

"You know what? Screw it. I'll just say it. Naruko, _please_ don't eat any Leaf citizens."

"...Not _one_?" Naruko asks morbidly.

"No. Though other villages are fair game." Jiraiya spies the impending fiasco in Naruko's toothy grin. "-In moderation and secrecy, of course. For now, you'll have to make do with 'ningen' food."

"Ah... human food eh? It's not bad, I suppose. Certainly more variety."

"That's the spirit. Now... Since you changed your mind, what to do about this... I need _to_... Retrieve your death certificate, 'talk' to admissions... 'talk' to Hebi, _talk _to the monkey, aaaand... Pray for my eternal soul... You've made me very busy, Naruko."

"Purely unintentional."

Jiraiya sighs. "First things first."

He wakes Hebi.

~:~

**Chapter 4: Ayame**

~:~

Jiraiya _tries _to wake Hebi, at least; noting in his mind that he must have given her a larger dose than he'd intended. A few hours, he thinks, Hebi will wake in a few hours, and he will have to explain why he didn't kill her. The man sighs, slumps back into his chair and rattles the empty bottle in his free hand.

"Probably should have asked this first - what do you want her to know?" Jiraiya asks, looking up from the bottle, slightly calmer with his drinking taking it's toll. Naruko is unimpressed.

"... Nothing." She says after a moment, and meeting Jiraiya's unabashedly questioning glance, continues softly. "I've had my fill of frightened servitude from you alone… I would prefer she think herself dominant."

"Kinky... I like it." Jiraiya quips drunkenly, taking a sip from the empty sake bottle to avoid whatever expression she adopted. When he finishes fake-drinking Naruko is smiling, and he is glad that the monster he helped create had lost its hair trigger.

"I value little Hebi's unconcerned honesty far too much." Naruko says oddly, Jiraiya nods as if he understood every word from her mouth, taking another sip from the empty bottle. Naruko does not comment.

"Ah - and speaking of unconcerned honesty," Jiraiya blurts abruptly, reaching into somewhere or other to retrieve a bland looking scroll, a foot in length and five inches in diameter. "I have here," he slurs, "your part of the deal. Just need a 'signature'... _here_" He finishes, unrolling the scroll with a flourish, and pinning a segment around the middle of it's length, a conveniently empty space directly under his finger. All else teeming with letters and shapes and symbols - so thickly they only gain detail upon close examination. Naruko smiles laxly.

"So you remembered then, did you?"

"It'll take more than being drunk off my ass to make me forget something like this." Jiraiya grunts, and Naruko nods amiably. She holds out a hand, palm down over the blank, a miniature sun flaring to life underneath. The scroll shudders a moment later; the ink warbling. The symbols gaining sentience, fluttering about the paper into a dizzying array and soon settling from the buzzing swarm into a roughly circular mass. The sun vanishes shortly. Jiraiya moves to retrieve the still twitching scroll, but Naruko grabs it first.

"Allow me." She says cordially, and Jiraiya doesn't like her tone - but Naruko doesn't care; she rolls the scroll up with a deliberate slowness that makes him twinge in anticipation.

"... I said I wouldn't destroy this place, and I won't. It's as much his enemy as mine, and so entertaining; much more satisfying to see it thrive if only to make him squirm... And I said I would fight for you, for this 'village hidden in leaves' should you need it," Naruko tilts her head to the side, unreadable. She holds out the roll. As Jiraiya reaches to grab it, Naruko flicks her wrist up, almost casually, effortlessly - a luminous white beam flashes a rectangular hole in the ceiling, edges charred and smoking. Not a second passes and a severe wind lifts everything freestanding in the apartment from the floor; tosses it back down negligently a moment later.

"I lied." She says flatly.

Jiraiya just stares. Stares and tries to convey the confusion and betrayal he is feeling, but Naruko appears uncaring.

"Are you surprised?" She asks after a long, silent moment.

"No." He replies shortly, taking a breath to reign in his anger. "...I _am_ frustrated, though."

Naruko looks at him with her infuriatingly self-satisfied grin. "Tolerance aside, I would sooner burn this place to ashes than serve it; you of all people should know that."

"... I suppose you're right on that account." He admits lowly, almost taking another pretend-drink before he catches himself and tosses the bottle aside; dragging a palm over his eyes wearily. They sit in silence for a long while, waiting for Hebi to regain consciousness, though Naruko fidgets less, and Hebi less still. He twitches, twitches, taps his fingers and finally sighs. "...I've been meaning to ask since the moment I completed that shell of yours..." Jiraiya starts uncertainly "...What are you going to do, Naruko? Before me and my dearest student I'll bet things were simple for you... 'All the world's flammable' and you were pissed, of course it was simple... But now; everything I've done for you are just means without an end..."

His inquiry must have sullied the mood, because Naruko turns from him, nuzzling into Hebi's neck with half-lidded eyes, and though her gaze is not on him he knows her attention is his. He moves to continue neutrally, and notes he must be much drunker than he'd thought - sitting in a chair, psychoanalyzing a monster - but she interrupts and for a moment he fears he has crossed a line.

"You speak as if you understand, ningen." Naruko mutters heavily, and he ignores the warm liquid that suddenly pools in his ears. "I will only stomach so much insolence as serves its purpose - and make no mistake, you are replaceable."

"... That's... that's special." Jiraiya cracks stupidly, and it is just as he is about to be atomized that Hebi groans awake. He straightens in his seat and mentally flails about, remembering that he must now explain to the woman he nearly killed why she must keep her mouth shut, without revealing specifics. Naruko preens in his discomfort, flaunting a carefree, doe-eyed smile as Hebi turns to survey the room, gently shrugging herself off of Naruko shoulders. Her surveillance ends with him - and Jiraiya imagines she shares his hesitancy from the expression on her face.

He opens and closes his mouth dumbly. "Let's have a talk, Hebi."

~:~

Jiraiya spends a good half-hour lying his ass off - and though he knows neither one of them believes a word from his mouth he continues flapping his jaw until he grows bored with it, all the while digging his pinkies into his ears and wiping them on his sleeves before the substance crusts over. He leaves with an impudent grin, waving to the woman he drugged and the girl he helped create, in a manner that, even while basking in the glow of life puts Hebi in a bad mood. Naruko waves just as stupidly at his back, continuing far after the door closes, a lazy grin curving her lips as Hebi scowls and relishes every breath she inhales.

~:~

Hebi reports everything to Sarutobi later that day, every single thing that Jiraiya half-blathered at her to keep quiet - though she is not ashamed. He knew where her loyalties were; her break of secrecy was inevitable, the reason that she would be in the stomach of a mountain toad half-digested were it not for the man's whimsy. Sarutobi nods, makes affirmative noises when appropriate, and is generally pleasant; it confuses her to no end when he ushers her from his office - breath full of vague promises and sweet smoke. She sees him flash his grandfatherly smile through the crack of his door, crinkle his eyes in the single best facsimile of genuine good will that she has ever seen, and will ever see.

Hebi does not smile back.

~:~

Five days pass, and Hebi begins to notice things.

Naruko learns quickly - which is good. Her assignment is to look after the girl until she is sufficiently convinced that Naruko can care for herself reliably - and after five days she is convinced. Naruko watches her cook, hanging over her shoulders and breathing deep through her nose as Hebi explains step by step the recipe. The next day Naruko cooks for her, the same food, the same portions, the same movements; Hebi could have made it herself and there would be no difference.

Naruko eats - certainly. She eats little and far between - so little that Hebi wouldbe concerned were it not for the fact that Naruko glows in the sun, skin golden and eyes bright - the picture of youth and health. But she is light. Hebi knows with certainty, Naruko is light, at times impossibly so. And though she considers it only a dream, she remembers Naruko floating from her hands; weightless.

In the blue of Naruko's eyes - and they are brilliant. A hue so deep it shines like nothing else - but, Hebi notices; Her pupils, round, and round, and just for a moment they stretch, they warble - and in her years she has seen more surprising things, but it is not the sight that makes her shudder. It is the knot deep in her gut - a burning inferiority, shame and fear like nothing she has ever felt - urging in the back of her mind that she is in the presence of a being beyond her comprehension.

Naruko has no chakra. Though at first Hebi convinced herself that it was simply faint beyond her range of detection, and she believed herself for a while - but soon enough she realized. There is no excuse; no lie Hebi can tell herself to make this fact acceptable. All living things have a chakra signature, no matter how faint: people, trees, insects. Civilians are well within her range of detection, But not Naruko. Not the spark of the untrained, not the flame of her fellow ninja, not the dull pulse of the sealed. And Hebi knows that only the dead have no chakra.

Naruko shops; carries a bag slung over her shoulder just as Hebi does. Hebi would be flattered; mimicry is the sincerest form of flattery so of course she would be flattered - the darling little thing padding along at her side, eyes alight with excitement. She shows the girl the best deals, the best quality, and Naruko smiles up at her; immaculate, eyes glimmering. The look she sends Hebi is far hungrier than the one she sends the produce.

Hebi notices things. And the chakra signature she senses on the fourth day comes as no surprise; not Naruko, because Naruko has none, but above her; on the roof. A single blip on her radar that she does not recognize. And then three, then five, nine, eleven. Hebi knows her limits, she excuses herself and once outside bolts to the tower in the distance. Hebi returns thirty seconds later with reinforcements. She finds Naruko sleeping soundly on her bed, bare chest rising and falling gently. The assumed assailants are gone. Vanished with the wind.

Naruko does not eat that night. Hebi notices; notices things she wouldn't, or, even if she did would disregard were it not for the peculiar air of secrecy her higher-ups had established.

Hebi requests that her assignment be extended on day six. Sarutobi smiles his grandfatherly smile and waves her off. He gives her a week, suggests she accompany Naruko to the upcoming festival. Hebi doesn't understand his motivation.

~:~

It is a slow progression, festival day. The eaves of nearly every building in Konoha sprouting paper lanterns and colored ropes like parasitic vines in preparation for the night. Stalls litter the roads, walls of strung sheets so saturated with color they would surely show their hues in the dark. Naruko is asleep on her feet the whole morning, whole evening as well, showing a bleary sort of anticipation that makes Hebi fondly half-smile despite herself. She finds the girl a kimono without much hassle, shows her how to wear it with even less; and never before has she seen a being draw such delight from clothing.

Night closes quickly; the lanterns glowing a warm red-orange under the cool night sky, the moon whole and brighter than she's ever seen. Civilians and Ninja alike clog the streets with their numbers, drunken giggling and chortling, laughing children and couples arm-in-arm. An air of hospitality hangs like a pleasant aroma.

Naruko glows in the candlelight, hair gold, skin flawless. Sharp features softened with warm expressions, her delirious steps only accenting the sway of her hips. People stare; stop and stare, and gape, while Naruko bounces in ways not conducive to remaining nondescript. Hebi grows uncomfortable quickly, and as Naruko wraps herself around her waist Hebi feels her face burn; she covers her scarred cheek with a free hand. Hebi buys Naruko a mask at the first opportunity and to her relief the looks trickle off, though only slightly.

Naruko again loops herself around Hebi's arm a moment after the purchase, nuzzles and drags her at little resistance, through thick and thin crowds, and, after padding in several random directions, parts a section of vertically sliced fabric. A row of backless stools greet Hebi's eyes, set up directly before a high counter. The man behind the bar glances up from a pot of something steaming, presses a towel to his brow and beckons them inside. Naruko is all too eager; he places a menu down on the counter and promptly goes back to stirring. Hebi takes the free seats to the far right; Naruko plops down beside her, drawing up the menu with what can only be an impudent grin behind her mask.

"... What is this?" She asks promptly, almost making Hebi sigh.

"A menu." Hebi says curtly, taking a deep breath and stretching her legs under the counter. "It lists what food this restaurant will make."

"... Why is it so blurry?" Naruko slurs, and Hebi does sigh; reaching over to gently remove the green frog mask that Naruko had been wearing since the moment Hebi handed it to her.

"Ah." She declares, casting the menu a look so intense Hebi is surprised the paper doesn't wilt, and, content with whatever she saw, turns her gaze back on Hebi. "What are these things?"

Hebi checks. "Different types of ramen."

"Ah, those... _noodle _things?"

"The very same."

Naruko's eyes light up in recognition, she nods to herself and returns to staring intently. "... What are these other words?"

Hebi checks. "Flavors."

Naruko nods. "... What-"

"How about I order for you?"

"Yes."

Hebi peruses the menu for a bit, the relaxing atmosphere of the stall making her eyes drift closed slightly; and she wonders why she's tired in the corner of her mind. Maybe it was Naruko's fault, she considers, the girl was and is unusually sedate, her steps almost woozy, eyes half-lidded, but she still smiles warmly, dreamily. Her indolent mood must be contagious, Hebi thinks.

"Medium miso." Hebi says to the cook.

He gives her the barest of smiles. "Coming right up," He responds quietly, looking at Naruko for a moment, expression as if he, at that moment, suddenly and irrevocably realized that the girl was not a _frog_ at all. He furrows his brows at something or other, Hebi isn't sure and doesn't care to ask, and goes back to the pot, pulling another from underneath the counter and setting it on a free burner to boil. Pulling ingredients and dough from a board to the side, he starts on their order with an oddly perturbed frown. Hebi promptly looses interest and rests her chin in her palm. Naruto however, stares with all the intensity of a solar flare. Watching in unconcealed fascination as the man goes about what must be a routine with the smooth transitions. Slicing this, dicing that, all with a dull, vacant sort expression on his face. Hebi imagines he must wish he was outside, among the lanterns, as she glances up from her hand.

A child no older than six patters down the staircase behind the counter; brown hair falling down her back and wearing the single 'flowery-est' kimono Hebi has ever seen. She tries her very best to sneak past the counter, though the cook, as of yet nameless and Hebi doesn't care to ask, adopts a weary expression for only a second, thereafter he tries his best fatherly smile. He checks the pots and turns to face her, stopping her in her tracks. Hebi surmises that it must not be her first escape attempt of the night.

_Now, now, Ayame, go back to bed._ He chides softly - though Hebi hears him clearly - crouching down to ruffle her hair. She frowns in return.

_But I want to see the festival… _She replies just as quietly, surprising Hebi with her tone; not the loud petulance she expected from a child.

_I know, I know… I'm sorry, Ayame, I want to take you, I do… But I need to work…_

The girl listens, oddly enough. Frowns, almost sobs, but she listens. Nods with shining eyes and an amount of maturity that Hebi much prefers to the alternative.

_I'll take you next year, I promise _-He adds shallowly, pulling her into a quick embrace before ushering her back up the stairs. None of the other customers comment on the scene as he returns to work. Hebi is no exception; and though the relaxed mood had been dampened Hebi had already forgotten her misguided guilt the minute after. She turns to watch Naruko from the corner of her eye - and in that moment she notices, Naruko's eyes are red. They glow for only a moment, though; blue and soft an infinitesimal second later, so quickly Hebi almost assumes it a trick of the light but for the nagging in her gut that her eyes know better.

~:~

**Chapter 5: Jiraiya**

~:~

Naruko eats half of the bowl, and Hebi imagines the girl enjoyed herself the way she smiles as they exit. Her eyes were blue, Hebi notes, blue ever since she first saw them flash. Perhaps it really was a trick of the light, she considers, forcing a small quirk of her lips. Naruko takes the lead again, stumbling around inarticulately, almost drunkenly, gaping at this and that, and another one of those moments occurs that Hebi doesn't understand.

Little… _Ayame, _is suddenly by Naruko's side, doing her best to match the girl step for step and as such looking completely ridiculous, though very unconcerned with that fact. Hebi wonders when the girl arrived, if her father is wringing his fingers fretting over her absence. She wonders what a well-adjusted human being would do in her situation – escort the girl home, she imagines. But then Naruko turns to her, Ayame at her side as she beams, and it is not her smile that leaves Hebi speechless. Is her eyes. Glowing a burning, hateful red; luminescent and slit like every painful mistake Hebi has ever made, and in the far secluded portion of her mind with voice enough to speak she thinks;

"_That is no trick of the light."_

Naruko turns her head to smile down at little Ayame, lips too wide, teeth too sharp; the girl grins back up – either not noticing or noticing and not caring. The pair flounces off again, and though Hebi's lips are numb her legs are not, she follows along just as she was before, the warmth of the swaying lanterns lost in her mind; lost because she knows those eyes – knows them as she knows death and pain, fire and keening laughter.

The world contorts, stretches up towards the full moon, and Hebi walks after Naruko, the girl dancing along with a cruelly nailed hand over Ayame's shoulder.

Then, the lanterns provide light enough to see; Ayame's arm is gone, vanished at the elbow and dripping like nothing else. Though the girl only laughs, giggles and glances up; Naruko smiling down, the tips of tiny fingers peeking out of her mouth just long enough for Hebi to quirk her brow.

Ayame darts to the front, tugging on Naruko's sleeve, stump flailing and spurting with her exuberant motions.

"_Come on!" _She gushes childishly, "_Hurry! We're gonna' miss it!"_

Naruko indulges, pads along as the child sets the pace. Hebi stops, glances down at the trail of red-black leading after them uncomprehendingly. Overhead a burst of light illuminates the world, startles her badly. She turns up, watches another colorful explosion flower-petal in the sky and draws her arms close, shivering in the sudden cold. Hebi stiffens and starts after them jerkily, following the trail wetly glimmering under the lanterns. She spies civilians from the corners of her eyes, cheery-faced, hand-holding, laughing. She detachedly wonders how they could not notice.

Hebi finds them soon enough, standing at the back of a mass of people. Ayame cranes her neck back, staring up at the fireworks with unbridled fascination. Naruko has her hand crooked over the girls shoulder, tightly, almost protectively. And with each explosion of light and sound another piece of her vanishes. From the head down Ayame strips away - a candle melting from the top – flesh as wax and wick as bones. Hebi watches, disbelieving, cold and shuddering in the unforgiving night air. Naruko quirks her head back, smiles broadly at her, and when she opens her mouth a pair of brown eyes peer out through her teeth.

Hebi blinks.

Ayame is with Naruko, curled up against her side and staring up at the fireworks. Naruko gestures at Hebi frantically, asking her to join them with an unusual enthusiasm before turning back to the sky. Hebi shakes out her head and pads over to them, giving one last concerned glance to Ayame before she takes her place by Naruko's side. A fizzling crackle draws her attention up, and, breathtaking as they are, Hebi notes over the fireworks that Naruko's eyes are still red. And they aren't looking at the display; they're looking at the moon… and then at her.

"Ah?" Naruko questions eloquently, lips parting just far enough for Hebi to see the unnatural sharpness of her teeth. Hebi forces a smile, though it is stressed at best. She spends a moment of silent contemplation deciding on whether or not she should comment.

"Your eyes are red." Hebi responds, keeping her tone carefully neutral.

Naruko smiles softly, eyes half lidded but no less luminous. "The moon is full tonight." She murmurs dreamily, glancing up at the silver-white satellite. "… It feels familiar…" Hebi nods hesitantly. Naruko turns her gaze back, gesturing to the girl half asleep at her side. "You should take her away, before I forget again…"

'_Forget what?' _is on the tip of Hebi's tongue, but she cannot place the expression on Naruko's face, not her crooked frown and not the uncertainty in her tone; but she has already seen and heard enough of both. Hebi pries the girl from Naruko's side and hands her off to a clone she produces, her doppelganger cradling the sleeping form and carefully bounding off to the rooftops. Hebi watches her replica's process for as long as the dim lighting allows, turning back to Naruko just as the crackling explosions above trail off.

Even as the crowd disperses Naruko remains, head craned back, and Hebi knows better than to leave the girl on her own. She stands at her side, staring up at the moon; and if only for a second, the moon stares back.

~:~

"Hey Naruko, you there?" Jiraiya bellows into the room, door swinging inwards nonchalantly, as if it was never locked in the first place. Naruko twitches awake and sits up on the bed, smiling slightly more than she glares.

"… I'm here." She grumbles good-naturedly. "Though for future reference, don't ever do that again."

He crooks a grin. "Good dream?"

"Or something."

"Right then." Jiraiya states with little aplomb; shutting the door behind him and plopping down in a chair at the table. Naruko flops back onto the bed and flounders a bit. "Straight to it; a certain excrement-throwing monkey tossed me an especially nuggety chunk of information this morning."

"Color me intrigued."

"Hebi reported in. She thinks she was hallucinating… but, evidently, you… _indulged_ yourself last night," he says, maintaining a light and airy tone, "care to elaborate?

"Word travels fast." Naruko promptly groans into the sheets.

"We're very good at talking." Jiraiya replies, almost morbidly, pulling a bottle of sake from his side pocket and taking a sip. It was becoming a habit around her. "Which reminds me, good call spitting her back up; only thing that spreads faster than rumors is notoriety."

"And disease if I remember correctly…"

"Such is the human condition." He indulges nonchalantly; nursing the bottle a bit, "but let's keep on topic, shall we?"

"Of course, of course." Naruko trails off, rolling onto her back with a sigh. "I doubt you would understand… but… I could see it…" She mutters after a moment's consideration, barely audible over the gentle hum of the air conditioner, "That which I desire most in this world…"

Jiraiya, having expected either a barb or a cataclysmic blow to the head, doesn't so much as breathe for fear of interrupting her honest seeming explanation.

"That man, he hid it. Just out of reach… but not out of mind…" She grasps at her head with a pained expression. "I can still hear it…"

Naruko sighs again; blinks away from the light bulbs on the ceiling before turning her attention back to him, "Do you understand?"

He might. "… I'm gonna' go out on a limb here, and say that's not the real reason."

"I was hungry, _moron_." Naruko responds promptly, all traces of melancholy gone. She sits up to shoot him a derisive stare, "She was pre-seasoned – smelled almost as delicious as… As… What's her name again?"

Jiraiya tears his gaze from her voluptuous breasts. "…Hebi, Naruko. Her name is Hebi. And good job remembering a four letter word, not like it's been a week or anything."

"Forgive me," Naruko quips, "in the future I'll be sure to memorize all my meals, that sounds useful and interesting."

"It's not about 'useful' or 'interesting', it's a common courtesy to know someone's name. Aside from that, how the hell have you been dealing with her if you don't know her name?"

"I scarcely need to get her attention; she's quite the professional, in all honesty."

"She's certainly focused, I'll give her that much." Jiraiya says, tossing back the last of the saké in his hand. He then peers at the bottle morbidly. "...Well. I'm out of apathy." He mourns to himself detachedly. "I should go."

"Then go," Naruko tosses back, "_forever_. And don't forget your present." She gestures to the side blandly.

"Ah." Jiraiya eyes the half-eaten corpse by the window, "I'd been meaning to ask you about that."

"Funny story." Naruko says, not bothering to hide her toothy grin, "Puppetmaster must have figured I'd dispose of him as I did of his other pawns, so he stuffed the man full of poison capsules and those paper seals you humans are so fond of… Tasted horribly bitter…"

Jiraiya, not surprised, does not point out that there would be no uninvited guests were it not for Hebi's presence. "Puppetmaster?"

"Someone named 'Danzo.' One of yours, oddly enough… I'd dispose of them via process of elimination if they weren't so amusing."

"Oh that crotchety little fuckmuffin." Jiraiya curses under his breath, reassured only in the knowledge that it entertained more than insulted or angered her. "He has… well, essentially nothing to do with Konoha, by the way." He says overtly.

"Worried that I'll seek retribution, are you?" Naruko grins at his transparent uncertainty. "Rest assured, worse things have been done than send me food."

"…Oh. Well… Compliments of the house, I'm sure." He prattles, raising his empty bottle in a toast.

"To 'crotchety little fuckmuffins.'" Naruko shoots back, raising her hand, and, losing interest, rolling onto her side.

Jiraiya responds only because he loves his country. "Here, here." He takes a sip from the empty bottle and disposes of it. "…Well, I got what I came for." Jiraiya stands and plods over to seal the corpse into a scroll he pulls from a pocket. "Always a pleasure." He calls over his shoulder as he leaves, only to pause at the door and turn back.

"I'll be out of the country for a while, need to check up on some contacts."

"Whatever shall I do without your heavenly company?" Naruko replies sleepily.

"No need to get snarky." He responds with a sigh, "just making sure you're comfortable before I'm out of reach."

"As comfortable as I can be, I suppose. Though - bring back food; crotchety's minions are surprisingly tasteless... The younger the better… but not too young… Medium-rare, if you will."

"Oh, sure, I'll just round up a bag of adolescent women; have a messenger bird carry them to you." The sarcasm flows from his mouth like horrible, horrible water, and he quickly amends "you know, you don't have to stay here; I know for a fact that Iwa is ridiculously overpopulated."

Naruko chuckles. "I'd rather be doted on. If you should find yourself in need of incentive, just remember, there's a darling little orphanage a few blocks from here…"

"… I don't want to do this." He responds lamely.

She snorts. "Cold feet?"

Jiraiya's expression darkens but he doesn't dare raise his voice. "No. I knew the alternative was worth more than a clean conscience; then, just as I do now… I've done worse things…"

"…Just _one_ then." Naruko allows after a moment's consideration, flopping back down bonelessly to continue, "one sacrifice for the good of your nation."

Jiraiya sighs forlornly, and, rolling his neck, replies; "I want your word."

"We've been down this road before, Jiraiya." She states evenly.

"Whatever helps me sleep at night."

Naruko chortles to herself. "You have my word, then. You lucky dog you."

"I'll be back in a month if all goes as planned. Save your appetite. And stop… _doing_… things; Hebi seriously thinks she's going insane."

~:~

Naruko wakes. She ruffles her hair and squints at the diffuse light streaming through the blinds. She feels warm, cozy. Far too comfortable to move. She flops back down, asleep a moment later.

~:~

Naruko groans, props her head up on her palm. She falls onto her back and stares up at the ceiling blearily. The room is bright and the sheets are soft. She pulls them over her head.

~:~

Naruko jerks awake, wondering how she ended up on the very, very cold carpet. Wondering how the carpet could possibly be so frigid. She hops back into bed and wraps herself up in the comforter. It is a dull sort of light that streams through the windows. Naruko nuzzles into her pillow.

~:~

A hand on her shoulder eases her awake, and Naruko sighs as she opens her eyes. Hebi stands over her, looking incredulous and amused.

"Have you been in bed all day?" Hebi asks, her voice such a restrained softness that Naruko near falls asleep again.

"… " She moves her lips a bit, but no sound comes out – and words cannot describe how sweet Hebi smells.

"That's a yes." Hebi replies dully. "Hungry?" She continues, moving back towards the kitchen. Naruko makes a dry rasp of a noise in response - not nearly comprehendible but she considers it progress.

"That's… probably a yes." Hebi muses to herself, and moves on to clank about in the kitchen making some odd thing. Naruko winces at the sharp noise and holds the comforter over her ear tightly; it takes her a moment to come to terms with the fact that fabric makes for poor noise insulation.

But it is warm – and soft. She near falls asleep despite the clamoring pots and pans. Then, almost too quickly Hebi is stirring her lucid again, and she can't help but reflexively dig herself deeper into the mattress.

"Naruko… Food's ready." Hebi says, hesitantly prodding at her half-sleeping form.

"Mnnnenubuh…" Naruko replies groggily. Hebi has no clue what she means.

"… Here." Hebi rolls the sheets down off of her and eases her up at moderate resistance, placing a warm plate in her lap a few moments later. Naruko blinks the weariness from her eyes and glances down at her meal. A blob of rice peeks back at her, still steaming. At its side a few slices of some… meat, thing. It smells as good as bloodless, chakra-less food can, she supposes, and takes up the chopsticks that Hebi passes her with a practiced hand. Hebi takes a seat at the foot of the bed and starts on her own plate. They eat in silence for a while – Naruko in no hurry and Hebi, though a quick eater by necessity, prefers to take her time given the opportunity.

"I will be returning to regular assignments starting tomorrow." Hebi states suddenly, and with a noticeable lack of inflection. "Just thought you should know."

"… Ah." Naruko responds uncertainly. "…A good thing?"

Hebi takes another bite. "Good for the village." She answers, and from what Naruko knows of tone, that answer was good enough for her. She frowns.

"Good for _you_?"

Hebi chuckles dryly, takes a few moments to chew another bite. "Good enough, I suppose."

Naruko nods as if she understands; shovels another mouthful of rice into her mouth.

Hebi sighs. "Will you be alright without me?" She asks hesitantly, as if concerned that she would offend.

Naruko doesn't mention that she doesn't need food, or water, or sleep, or even air – just as Hebi doesn't mention the unease frothing deep in her gut as Naruko raises her eyes.

"…I'll be fine… Hebi..."

~:~

**Chapter 6: Kakashi**

~:~

"Entertain me, monkey."

Sarutobi withholds the sigh bubbling in his chest. He sedately places his inkwell pen down in its holder and turns to her. Fumbling for words for a few moments, Sarutobi continues on fumbling audibly, noting that perhaps the shock of her kicking in his door hadn't quite faded "I'm… well… _You_… I have… _Work_. Lots and lots… and lots of work… So… So much… _work._" Hearing those words from his own mouth made him sad.

"I can see that quite well from here," Naruko comments flippantly from her chair across from him, sitting up slightly straighter to peer down her nose at his desktop, "paper is the vice of us all," she says absently, "believe you-me, none understand more than myself. Here, I have the perfect solution." She pads over to him, and with a mockingly hesitant movement flips over the form he was working on. "Problem solved."

Sarutobi sighs. "If only it were so simple," he says more to himself; flipping the sheet once again on its back and half-wincing at the black script leering back at him. "But I fear that the custom known as 'duplicates' is unavoidable without submitting duplicates requesting less duplicates… "

"It appears we have a conundrum," Naruko responds tersely, "Fear not, my good man, I shall solve it for you."

The surface of his desk promptly and with little warning bursts into searing flames, incinerating every single sheet of paper, his pen, his pipe, and a good portion of his eyebrows.

"Let it not be said that I have not committed a good deed. You're supposed to praise me now."

Sarutobi takes a deep, calming breath and lets the air out slowly. "What do you want."

"I want to be entertained, of course." Naruko replies with a frustratingly self-satisfied grin. "I must say I'm enjoying myself so far – have any other problems for me?"

"I'm sorry to say, but most of my problems require a subtler touch than 'fire.'"

"You're obviously not using enough."

Sarutobi is far too old to be made of patience. "There are more interesting things than an old man doing paperwork. What. Do you want." He reiterates, his tone bordering on harsh.

Naruko sighs wistfully and lolls her head to the side. "What does _anyone_ want?"

He almost snaps at her before he recognizes it, the genuinely uncertain twinge at the end of her question. Sarutobi answers it as honestly as he dares. "Fame. Fortune. Power… The trifecta."

She regards him thoughtfully. "…How dull. Well then, what do _you_ want?"

Her eyes are unsettling; he mulls over her question intently. Naruko quickly becomes bored with his considerations and begins supplying answers for elimination.

"Women?" Naruko prods.

"There is only one woman for me." Sarutobi says. "I will be with her soon."

She tries a standard. "Wealth?"

"No need." He replies smoothly, and with an underlying hint of sarcasm that goes unheeded. "For I am rich in the love of my subjects."

Naruko grins. "Peace?"

"Peace is a fools dream." Sarutobi states with little hesitation. "I have seen three wars firsthand, each pettier than the last. I imagine that I will see one more before my time is up. Perhaps, if I am truly lucky, my children will see me past."

"One can only hope." She adds lowly, a moment later losing interest and letting her head incline off the back of her chair. The ceiling is dull, she notes – and for a good twenty, thirty seconds, she stares up with glazed eyes, as Sarutobi goes about finding documents to replace the ash piled on and around his desk. Her patience is certainly not infinite. "Is this all you do, then?" She asks brashly, "Sit around writing nonsense?"

Sarutobi sighs at the lack of respect and glances over at her. "I also breathe, smoke, and complain. But yes, that is an apt summary."

Naruko raises her head to quirk an eye at him. "… And you are… alright, with that?"

"I am sixty-one years old." He replies with a noticeable lack of enthusiasm, and leaves it at that.

"Am I to infer that you are a decrepit old man capable of nothing but filling out documents, and are thus doomed forever to a life of ink, lung cancer and shame?"

He frowns at the faint snort emanating from the far corner of his office. "You are to infer that for the past ten years I have had increasing problems with arthritis, and would like nothing more than to drop my commitments in the lap of a younger, stupider replacement – but there are none. I will hold this position until I find someone willing enough to pry it from my cold, arthritic fingers."

"I pity you." Naruko replies promptly.

"I don't want to hear that from you."

"Life is a cruel, cruel mistress… Come, old man!" She declares grandly, spreading her arms wide, "Embrace me and forget your earthly troubles!"

"What will it take to make you leave?" Sarutobi asks flatly, turning back to rummaging through folders of forms in his relatively untouched desk drawers.

"I don't want to leave." Naruko says, wiggling her fingers, "I'm enjoying myself."

The reigning Hokage heaves a long heavy breath and sags his shoulders helplessly. "Jiraiya didn't tell me you were so talkative."

"He didn't tell you a lot of things I imagine."

"And clarify something for me, would you?" He pauses in his rummaging through a file-cabinet to cast a stern eye over his shoulder. "If I ordered my guard to escort you out, what would happen?"

Naruko chuckles. "I don't value your company that much, old man."

"I should hope not." He replies too quickly, and with noticeable relief. "I'd hate to find that you have some sort of old man feti-"

A displacement of air sucks his last word right out of his lungs, concaves the window over his back such that even with the reinforcement seals it spiderwebs and showers his office with sand-grain shards of glass. Naruko vanishes without a trace.

~:~

Naruko blinks at the scenery; rolling hills as far as her eyes can see, and in all the wide expanse, nothing but dirt. A dirty little dirt-child stands before her, coughing and swatting at the cloud of smoke that for some reason had appeared with her entrance.

"…So it finally landed then." She realizes and comments to herself, glancing around and finally seeing the brilliant red scroll rolled open on the ground. She stands and takes it up – afterwards padding off to observe her surroundings. She sees a disheveled hovel, bare earth to her left and equally colorless rice-patties to her right – more off kilter shacks sprouting up in the distance like cylindrical weeds – both in connotation and quantity. They blend in with the drear desolation very well. A sudden tug on her pant-leg draws her attention down, her would-be summoner looking up in awe. Naruko leans back a bit impulsively.

"Are you an angel?"

The voice, a scratchy, high pitched sort of drawl, whistles through a mouth with the last of its baby teeth missing. It grates at her ears, and Naruko immediately and implicitly knows that she never wants to hear it again. She flashes a palm, a pellet of caustic red exploding forth and bludgeoning through his chest – the body blackening and flaying and finally falling to ash at her feet – Naruko takes a step back to keep her shoes clean.

"… No, by the way."

She looks around and crinkles her nose as the smell of the fields finally sets in. She'd expected something more interesting than dirt, stink and toil.

Naruko idly tosses the scroll back and forth between her hands, picks a direction and flicks it in a slight arc – breaking the sound barrier with a harsh crack that tosses the nearby shelter off the ground. She vanishes not a moment later, only a plume of dust deigning her exit.

~:~

"Thank you Tora." Sarutobi avers briskly, slapping the new stack of forms down on his refurbished-enough desk. Tora vanishes off to somewhere or other with the majority of the broken glass and other fragments of his once very, very nice office; he finally eases down into his chair, old bones creaking more than the springs. A draft of cool air wafts in through the windowless frame at his back, and in that moment, devoid, as of yet, of a writing implement, he is truly at peace. The stress lines on his face soften, his eyes drifting closed as he eases his head back.

A shockwave tosses everything. He is no exception, and among the many parts of him that protest the action, his back is the loudest. The wind shortly dies down enough for the desk curled around his frame to crack against the floor.

Naruko smacks her lips. "This place is a mess."

"Tora. Ushi." Sarutobi calls flatly, "please _gently_ escort this woman from the premises."

"You're no fun."

"Neko, get me a drink."

"Alcohol won't fix anything," she chides, "if you want your office clean, you'll simply have to care for it better."

"Hyō, get me a drink as well."

"What would your homely children think if they saw you now?"

"Tori, I hear you chuckle one more time and I'll have your head."

~:~

There is a drop of blood on her shoes. It came from an infant.

Maybe, were it another time, another place, if better and worse things hadn't been done she would feel guilty. She has killed before and she will again, and this family of petty nobles is not nearly noble enough to avoid being bled in their sleep. As she shoved the tip of her Ninjatō into the eye socket of a two month old child she wondered if she was sane. Not out of concern or morbid achievement, not to carve another tick on her wall. She was curious.

Not to define sanity as the presence of remorse or guilt. She takes no pride in the way she lops off another man's head, not pride and not joy. She pitter patters down the hall and knows that there are two she can trust behind her, not from longstanding connections, not from emotional attachment. She has seen them once before, or more, or less, but either way they have blood on their shoes. It matches hers, and that is enough. Hebi turns the corner and carves through another neck - a neck that should have been in bed. The man looks surprised in that brief moment before, eyes lighting up in recognition at the false band around her head; his guard's band. As his body collapses Hebi has already moved on - right at the corner - up the stairs - left - right.

She minds her footsteps, producing a squelch of a noise as the blood on her soles adheres to the floor. Hebi pauses at a door, Fukurou taking the silent cue to slide over opposite her. Nezumi is hotheaded as ever, or maybe just frustrated at getting caught with clean-up with Fukurou. He swipes a blade through the lock - and Hebi knows from experience a sword makes an apt key on demand. Nezumi ghosts in out of turn; a swish, a thud. Hebi and Fukurou follow. Hebi will recommend Nezumi for a psyche evaluation upon return. His kill is not clean. Not one bit.

Hebi turns to Fukurou. His nod means that he counted eleven bodies. That means that she is done. Hebi taps her foot once and gestures. Nezumi phantoms out the window, Fukurou takes second and she follows shortly. Long after they have gone, the mansion catches fire. It will burn well into the morning, a beacon of smothering flames for all those once under what was probably fair rule. Or not. Hebi isn't sure of the situation and doesn't ask.

~:~

It is a stolid affair, reporting back.

Hebi was in command so she reports alone. A word leaves her lips.

"Successful."

Failure would mean a written report, a backtrack and if necessary a cleanup. Failure would be stamp on that written report, the Hokage's seal acknowledging the papers existence. The form would be locked in a vault holed away in the basement section of the Hokage's tower. Failure is complicated. But success is simple. Sarutobi nods. No words from his lips because he knows better than to thank her for what she's done. He hands her a note and a scroll. Hebi takes the note down to AnBu HQ, and with the signature in her hand she tosses her mission request into a furnace that has seen enough word-form-evil to write its own twenty-six installment encyclopedia.

Hebi crouches and watches it burn through the window in its door. Enough muffled orange heat flickers through the glass that she cringes. The scroll withers; parchment bleeding smoke and ashes up through the pipes. Hebi feels like a child.

~:~

Naruko grimaces. She doesn't know what she expected out of Konoha. Out of being human. Jiraiya did his work well. Naruko was not shy with her threats so of course he was thorough, intent to please and formulating night to day to night on how compress her. Naruko's body is human enough. She feels the warmth on her back, the air on her face. But it is a shell at most. Her skin is warm, and soft, she has a pulse but no heart, and were she to peel herself open 'Naruko' would fall away like an old suit.

"It's hot."

But even shells serve their purpose. A real human body is fragile. Breakable. Flesh and bones have no place in Naruko. They would rot from exposure. Splinter from exertion.

"Too hot."

So she has none. Naruko is skin and energy and nothing more save a soul. A young soul still, a few months old at most, but a soul. Bonded to her core like a mutualistic parasite.

"... Hooooot."

She knows enough of the human body to move as she should. Knees bend back, arms can rotate - though they cannot spin. Hydraulics is a peculiar form of locomotion but it is simple compared to her true form. Brazenly simple.

"Man-slave." Naruko blathers to the ceiling groggily. "Fix the air conditioner."

Her mind is clear. The frost once glazed over her artificial synapses evaporated away by the heat of her soul. It was a slow process. The soul was young but it will grow with time. Grow until one rejects the other - and Naruko has no intention of losing her thoughts.

"Man-slave. Fix. The air conditioner." A form detaches itself from somewhere or other and bolts from the room. Naruko assumes he will return with tools. Or a bag of ice. Or winter. She sits up long enough to pull a drenched shirt over her head.

Her mind is clear, but it is freaking. Hot. Naruko didn't realize she could sweat. She compliments Jiraiya's efforts. Even veins stand off-blue against her skin, a nuance she had forgotten. Naruko had forgotten a lot of things.

But even Naruko knows enough to realize the drawbacks of a top-floor apartment. The view is nice enough, she supposes. But the sun doesn't care for aesthetics. She wonders if she can shoot it down.

Probably not.

~:~

"How are you feeling?" The clipboard asks, clicking the pen twice. Kakashi sighs and lolls his head.

"... Hm?"

"How are you feeling?" It has been two months. The clipboard has become an expert at ignoring his inattentiveness.

"Serendipitous." He replies grumpily.

Clipboard scratches out a checkmark. "No panic attacks?"

"... I'm sorry, what?"

"No panic attacks?"

Kakashi does not sigh. It has been two months. Two freaking months of the same questions because every time he heard the word 'visitor' he curled into a ball. Given, that alone is no warrant for _isolation_, except that one time that he reacted... poorly, that one time he did not flinch away.

"Hmm... Hmm... No." He responds lightly.

Clipboard nods (condescendingly) and writes something. "Aches and pains?"

His eye wouldn't stop bleeding. It does less, now, but there is a roll of gauze around it. At the end of the day he will spend a few minutes steaming the blob of congealed blood off of his face. It will have a perfect round imprint. His sharingan will warble. He will laugh.

"No. In fact, I'm feeling spry as a thirteen-year old."

"Excellent." The clipboard quips, it sounds genuine. As if by declaring he felt his age he had just progressed by leaps and bounds. Kakashi wants to kill Clipboard. He isn't sure why. Probably because it has been two months out of service and last night he may or may not have pinned a fly with a plastic spork and cried for half an hour over its bisected thorax.

Next comes the dirty trick. "Any visitors?"

He cringes. Remembers a body slurped through a hole in space the diameter of a straw. It was his fault.

Clipboard fills in a box.

Kakashi can only act unconcerned for so long. "When will I get out of here?" He interjects. Clipboard glances up.

"Soon." The answer is noncommittal. Clipboard stands. "You are with Inazuna four to five. Physical therapy is six to eight."

Kakashi nods. He has made progress. He used to shut down, now he cringes. It will not be long before he is healed.

Clipboard pauses at the door. "Any requests?"

Kakashi nods again. "Make physical therapy six to nine. And... Some books."

Clipboard leaves, closing the door behind it. Kakashi plops back down onto his cot and stares at the ceiling. He wonders if there is something they aren't telling him.

~:~

Man-slave did not return with winter. Or ice. He didn't return at all, but it wasn't long before the sun dipped below the horizon line. Naruko eases herself back onto her mattress. Night air billows through the windows, not cold by any means but relative to day it could not be more refreshing. She groans and slicks her hair back.

The day was dull. A lagging bore of words and desk-fires. Work and unbearable heat. Food and clouds and sweat covered foreheads shining enough to read by. Naruko feels the air caress her skin, tousle her hair. Ruffle the sheet-blinds hanging half open by the window panes.

She grins.

~:~

**Chapter 7: Sleep**

~:~

Man-slave did not return in the morning. Evidently, once compromised Danzo's agent had skittered off and vanished. It is morning. And hot. Naruko groans and tilts her head back, rolling over onto the slightly cooler side of the mattress.

~:~

Two hours later it is even hotter. She had long since peeled off her clothes but it didn't help. The air is sweltering, forming mirages under the windowpanes of ice and other delicious things. Her eyes won't stop watering; she flounders around on the mattress for a moment, trying to find a spot that isn't damp. There are none, but Naruko is stubborn to a fault.

~:~

Naruko is very stubborn, at least. But the summer hot-spell is unyielding. Unforgiving. A total bitch. She hates it. She wants to kill it and definitively prove once and for all that it is within her power to screw with nature.

But it is really, really hot. And about ten minutes ago she may or may not have shot a hole through the freezer door. It didn't help much but the ambiance was refreshing.

~:~

"How are you feeling?"

"..."

"Kakashi?" Clipboard prods, leaning forwards in the seat.

"... I'm sorry, what?"

"How are you feeling?"

His left foot is numb. The air from the vents overhead is stuffy, saturated. Really cold. He feels cooped up. "Better."

"No panic attacks?"

He dreamed about smiling faces and boulders. "Nope." It was quite terrible.

"Aches and pains?"

His eye had finally stopped bleeding. When he checked in the mirror, he got the impression that it was staring at him. Sizing him up. "No."

"Any visitors?"

He smiles if only to be contrary. "None."

Clipboard nods sedately and scratches in a box. "Inazuna says you're sane enough..." Clipboard drawls, cutting off momentarily to sign a form with a flourish. "I do too."

Kakashi doesn't get excited. "So?"

"You're cleared for service."

Kakashi gets a little excited. "I can leave?"

Clipboard nods.

"Now?"

"A few minutes or so." Clipboard comments flippantly, swishing a hand around in the air. Apparently, now that he was healthy, formalities and eggshell-walking were out the window. He sort of misses them. "Still need to turn in your release forms."

Kakashi deflates. 'A few minutes' is psychoanalyst-code for an hour. And an hour is a freaking long time in a whitewall cold-as-shit room.

"... A bit of advice, before you flutter off." Clipboard says, capitalizing on the disappointed silence. "The Uchiha have been pushing to have that thing-" he points at Kakashi's covered sharingan with his pen, "-removed. Used the old 'public hazard' excuse, or whatever it is." He glances up. "Long story short, they get an opportunity an' they'll pull that thing right outa' your skull. I don't want to find out that you 'died' in a gas explosion, ya' hear?"

Kakashi had forgotten that Clipboard was a person not confined as he was. "Nothing new, then?"

"Nothin' new." Clipboard stands, skitters over to the door- "back in a few" -and exits. Kakashi flops down on his cot and sighs.

Clipboard returns fifty-seven minutes later, and Kakashi has never been happier to give his signature. He still frowns though; frowns and meanders from his room as if he was on his way to an entirely unpleasant future, that could only be avoided by walking leisurely.

Fresh air has never smelled sweeter but holy shit is it hot outside.

~:~

"You fixed this place up pretty good. Feels like just yesterday it was a piece of shit."

"It was yesterday." Sarutobi affirms flatly. "Not even twenty-four hours ago."

"... So it was... " Naruko comments thoughtfully, "...So it was..."

"..."

"I'm not here to interrupt you."

"No?" The Hokage questions affably, his lips in a thin, white line. The stack of forms and applications at his right is a few inches thick. He needs to browse through and address anything meaningful within the next four hours if he wants to have dinner with his daughter. And he does, very much so.

"No. I'm just exploiting you." Naruko says brightly. At his perturbed frown she quickly amends, "for your office... It's refreshing as a cool breeze."

He lowers his blank stare a foot or so. "I can see that."

"Can you now?" Naruko quips meaningfully. She promptly realizes she makes no sense.

"Put your shirt back on."

"But it was all wet... and sticky..." She whines. Somewhere in the room someone chokes, Naruko isn't sure who or where. Sarutobi says nothing, only continues looking at her breasts expectantly. He is nigh unflappable.

"Just... Do your work, or something." Naruko says, dismissively swishing her hands at him. Sarutobi lets out a deep, anguished breath, but turns back to his forms and resumes glossing over something or other. She nods, ostensibly satisfied with whatever she had just accomplished.

Naruko is sitting under the vent. It feels wonderful. She inhales and stretches her arms over her head, a bead of sweat trickling down her neck. A loud thump slowly draws her attention to the far corner, where a man in a bird mask had fallen from what could only have been the ceiling. He stands and splutters awkwardly for a moment, before ambling out of the room with a noticeable slouch. In the right corner someone snickers. Sarutobi is not amused.

"I'll remind you that there are places more interesting and refreshing than here." Sarutobi says, reading over a paragraph on a building permit.

"And I'll remind _you_ that I don't particularly like you. Jirya told m-"

"Jiraiya."

"Right - right, told me to come to _you_ _specifically_ if I had any problems... Speaking of which, fix my air conditioner."

"Tora." He calls out, not even glancing up from his paperwork, "I want her apartment habitable within the next thirty seconds. Move."

Tora bounds down from a corner, pausing long enough to snap off a sloppy and somewhat distracted salute before vanishing from the building. Naruko waits two beats and cracks an imaginary whip.

Sarutobi ignores her. "Anything else you need before Ushi escorts you out?" Ushi promptly drops down at the implied command.

"... Dry sheets?"

"Done. Ushi."

"Sir."

"Ah – wait! And a freezer!" She calls out hurriedly as Ushi tosses her over her shoulder and pads out.

~:~

Jiraiya is afraid of Naruko. It isn't her eyes; she wasn't angry then, and there are plenty more horrible things. It isn't her smile – because blades cut just as deep. It was the sound of her voice, in that very first moment. When she looked him in the eye and told him what she wanted. Naruko wanted a body of her own; he thought that strange. She wanted shelter, and given the state of her shrine he was inclined to agree. She tossed a corpse at his feet and he shook his head. It was that moment - Naruko reached out and took his soul by the lapel. She told him with honey sweet words 'I will burn your world down around you,' and Jiraiya believed her. He believed with every fiber of his being that she would track down everything he had ever loved and burn it to cinders, and when only ash remained she would toss him in the pile and laugh herself sick.

He gave her what she wanted, and only what she wanted, for his village, not his life.

He finds a pretty little thing in Otofuku-Gai because he is afraid of Naruko. He doesn't want to see her face, or stand in the same room. Doesn't want to hold a little girl for her to eat from his palms but he knows he has to. Jiraiya is afraid and indignant, so he does what he does best. He pretends. He tells himself that Naruko cannot be trusted to keep her word, and he believes himself. Arm-candy one smiles up at him, his arm over her shoulder.

"More saké?" She asks, her voice is soft.

"Please."

Jiraiya tells himself that there are worse things to be done, that will be done if Naruko roams free. He tells himself that he is _right_, that he is doing the world a favor even at the potential cost – he knows he is. He knows he will do what he should have done when he first met her.

Arm-candy two quirks a brow.

"Are you alright?" She asks. She almost sounds worried.

Jiraiya realizes there is a horrible expression on his face. He downs a cup of saké and it doesn't help.

"I'll be fine."

The toads are holding his sacrifice for him, her body splayed out beneath one of the trees; she will not be going anywhere. They had been told of the situation, and they understood. Jiraiya wonders how long it will take to create what he intends. Her body took near a month. It took a dead woman's skin and time and regret. A cage will take more. More pain and more time and more regret, because he will not be making a jinchuuriki. If he is off by the smallest calculation she will sear through his seals and tear his head off his shoulders; Konoha will follow and it will be all. His. Fault.

"... Are you sure?" Arm-candy two reaffirms, she is concerned enough for her own wellbeing to sound genuine. Jiraiya realizes he is frowning again. He smiles.

"I'm sure."

He is lying.

~:~

Jiraiya sighs.

The girl at his side is scared out of her mind. From the abduction or the giant talking toads or what, exactly, he isn't sure. But she has an impressive pool to choose from and he feels very, very guilty. His hand is over her shoulder, he could touch his index finger to his thumb under her arm easily. She glances up and he looks away quickly, because he doesn't want to look her in the eyes again. Jiraiya keeps his mind blank as he stops before a door, turning his gaze down on the top of her head. He is easily twice as tall. She looks fragile: a mop of black hair atop her skull and expressive brown eyes. Her frame is narrow, willowy. She was malnourished and dirty when he found her. He estimated her at twelve years old.

Jiraiya knocks twice and opens the door, he has to drag her in when her feet refuse to move.

"Naruko." He calls out as a gesture, "You here?"

Naruko shudders and sits up on her mattress. She eyes him blearily. "Jir… aiya…"

He isn't sure what else to say. "I brought you someone."

Naruko shifts her eyes over to the girl at his side. "… Hm?"

Jiraiya glances down at her for a moment. He doesn't want to say it. "Don't you remember?"

The blond blinks once. Twice. Three times. Her eyes light up and she edges out of bed. "Here I'd forgotten." She says as she pads over, only looking at the girl. "You're late, if I remember right. Three months late."

Jiraiya spent those three months formulating. "Time flies."

She smiles. "That it does." Naruko turns from him to cup the girls chin and turn her head from side to side. Jiraiya feels like he's feeding a snake. Holding out a mouse by the tail.

"She looks good." Naruko comments idly. She leans in and nuzzles into the girls neck. "Smells good too." She straightens up and flashes a grin at him.

"Medium-rare, nice."

"I aim to please." He retorts with little feeling. Naruko only stretches her lips wider.

"Of course, of course." She takes the girl by the shoulder and walks her to the table, pulling out two chairs, side by side for her and her new guest.

"Take a load off." Naruko says, gesturing across her, "Tell me about your adventures."

Jiraiya takes one look at her and knows he should leave. "I'd rather not."

"Nonsense." Says Naruko, kicking out a chair with her foot. "There is so much for you to say. Sit, sit."

He does.

"So," Naruko asks, curling a hand around the other girl's shoulder. "What have you been up to?"

"… The usual." He answers, perturbed.

"How about a story?" Naruko says, at no resistance taking up the girls hand and chomping off a finger. Her eyes go wide but she doesn't scream.

Jiraiya crinkles his eyebrows. "Nothing worth mentioning."

She takes the whole hand. "Really? _Nothing_ at all?"

His face screws up in rictus fury but his tone is genial. He wonders if she even realizes what she's doing. "Nope, nothing."

Naruko takes the arm at the shoulder and the girl screams, a piercing shriek of desperation passes through her lips. Naruko takes her throat and Jiraiya stands. He careens out of the room into the hall and presses his forehead to a window. He hears gurgling, splattering. He swallows hard.

There is a scroll in his pocket, it is twenty-five feet long and it took two-and-a-half months to create. It is untested, unchecked, likely to kill him and theoretical at best but he has no reservations anymore. He pulls the scroll and slaps it against the wall bordering her room, taking his other hand and flattening it along. The paper is self-adhesive, it sticks like glue.

His resolve is strong now, and despite the possibility of death he will take his chances. One hand presses at the center of the scroll; each finger in its own designated circle. The other he holds in front of his chest, two fingers up as he concentrates his chakra. A long moment passes before the ink suddenly glows vibrant blue and sucks nearly every drop of chakra from his body. It forces the gate of opening. Then Healing, then Life, then Pain. The seal drains him so quickly the only physical change is a twitch in the corner of his eyes. He feels the rending tug of the Limit gate in his gut before the seal cuts off, and he drops to his knees. He wants to sleep more than he ever has in his entire life.

But he doesn't. He has enough presence of mind to force himself to his feet. One hand turns the doorknob, the other shakily traces along whatever object it can reach, because he doesn't trust his balance. Naruko is asleep on her bed - just like her. He takes it one step at a time, heart pounding away in his chest. If he is wrong...

Jiraiya stands to the side of her, Naruko flops over in her sleep and he marvels at how innocent she looks. He reaches out slowly, pressing his hand to her shoulder -

It passes through. Naruko is not smoke or water, Jiraiya doesn't feel her at all. His heart stops. He was right. Tension pours out of his body; worries and fears that no longer matter wafting like smoke from a fire. His knees give out but he doesn't care, the floor is wonderful. Even if it is her floor, even if he just escorted a little girl to her violent end, it is wonderful. He claws himself to the door on his hands and knees and he never stops smiling.

Naruko blinks awake, sits up and eyes Jiraiya's prone form with a perturbed frown. She wonders if he broke his spine.

"Back already?"

He doesn't respond.

"Well then." She says tersely, "You've become Quadrapedal. And deaf. Fantastic." Naruko slides off of the mattress and plods over to him. "Keep this up and you'll be single-cell by sundown. You need a doctor or something?" She stops slightly to the side of him. Jiraiya silently drags himself along, he doesn't acknowledge her. Naruko frowns.

"Oi. _Oooooi_."

She kicks him, her foot phases through and pops out of his back. Naruko promptly loses balance and hops on one foot; the blue of her eyes burns as she turns to him.

"Jiraiya." Her voice is stern, "What is this."

Jiraiya is one arm out the door. Naruko smashes a foot down on his back but she only hits the floor.

"Jiraiya!" She shouts, red smoke on her breath. "What have you done!"

He is out the door. Naruko makes to follow after him and stops abruptly in the doorway. She lifts a hand - it is shaking, quivering like a frightened child - and presses it to the open air between the doorframe. It contacts something, something formless and unyielding. The familiarity makes her soul boil.

"Jiraiya!" Her voice cracks. He glances back this time, lips spread wide in a tired grin. He meets her eyes in that moment, and his mouth moves, soundless; but she reads his lips well enough.

"No." Naruko says unsteadily, "I will not be caged again."

She steps back and holds out a palm, a sun flaring to life between her fingers, enough concentrated demonic chakra to have physical form. It grows in size to where it fills the room, and, in an instant it implodes, a pinprick of caustic energy in her hand so dense it gives no light.

"Never again!"

The doorway flashes red-black, and Jiraiya knows without a doubt that her attack would have killed him. The radiation alone would have peeled back his skin and vaporized everything around him and there would have been no stopping it.

The light doesn't fade. He imagines Naruko is still in there, soundlessly screaming, unleashing torrents of energy that will do her no good, because she is in her own dimension now. Just her, and her room. He turns back and continues inching out.

Naruko screams. Roars and rages and fires off blast after blast to no effect. Boiling red arms strong enough to rend the sky sprout from every pore and claw at the walls for purchase but they find none. Not an edge to grasp, not a fissure to crack. Only something smooth, and unyielding.

Naruko relearns anger, and she holds to it. Grasps the edges and holds it close because of all things it feels it feels familiar most. She channels enough chakra to flatten mountains and it does her no good.

~:~

Naruko keeps count by the light through the window. It has been two years. Two years holding to her anger.

She is tired.

~:~

The glass glows and fades four-thousand times more, light that gives no warmth or satisfaction. One complete cycle per day over three-sixty-five yields five-point-four-seven years - plus two equals seven-point-four-seven years total. Her anger has paled. Lost substance. She can't remember Jiraiya's face well enough to coax the embers. She fears that one day there will be nothing left of her but red. She wonders, if perhaps the Shinigami's blade cut what he needed and not what she offered.

She is tired but she will not sleep.

~:~

Four more years. She has not raised a hand in three. Not blinked an eye in two. Not took a breath in eight. She wonders if perhaps being a Jinchuuriki had its own benefits relative to her situation. She wonders if…

She'd forgotten his name.

~:~

Three more years pass. She sleeps.

~:~

There are birds. Chirping. Piercingly. Incessantly. _Annoyingly_. Wind on her skin and sun in her hair make her groan. Naruko wonders if she's awake as she opens her eyes. A canopy of trees overhead blocks the light from her eyes. The grass at her back is soft, almost downy but for the knot of a tree's root digging into her lower back. A shadow falls on her. She glances up.

"You surprised me." Someone chirps, short form mottled by the patchy sunlight. Naruko squints blearily but says nothing. She can barely make out a curtain of black hair and wonders if her eyes aren't working as they should.

"I'd forgotten," Naruko comments dazedly, "that I can dream."

"Everyone forgets something sometime." The half-shadow says consolingly, "it's part of being human."

Naruko turns a jaundiced eye to the clouds. She indulges the fabrication's expectant silence.

"I'm forgetting something still… Something important… Do you know what I'm forgetting?"

"Probably not." The decidedly feminine voice replies. "But I can try and help you remember, if you'd like."

Naruko wouldn't. Her mind draws up an image. White hair and grey eyes… And anger. Anger at the ache forming in her back. She rolls onto her side and looks over her shoulder, ready to blast whatever she finds out of existence. It isn't a root, she finds. It is a scroll. Paper red and ink black, rolled open just enough for the beginning of a kanji to peek out. Naruko's mouth cracks open in disbelief. A golden hand flits out and grasps it, as if afraid it would vanish.

"Where… did you find this?" Naruko questions. She knows the answer, because she sees the divot in the bark of a nearby tree.

"Over there." The she-person replies unnecessarily, pointing with a dainty, uncalloused hand. "It's my first time through this part of the woods, I was surprised to find it… I pried it out and opened it, and then you appeared… Pretty odd, huh?" She sounds happy.

"… Odd." Naruko says to herself, tasting the word. She turns to the other. "You… Who are you?" She asks, sitting up and getting to her feet.

"Oh, I'm –" She is cut off by a hand around her throat, smashing her bodily into the base of a nearby tree. Naruko glares balefully down her arm, because when she stood she saw the girl's eyes clearly. They are red, with black crescents spiraling from iris to retina. She didn't forget them and she never will.

"Why do you have those eyes." Naruko states, no question or uncertainty in her voice. The girl between her fingers smiles down the barrel. "Sorry? I've always had these eyes." Her feet leave the ground but she doesn't choke. She doesn't scream and she doesn't cry. She quirks the corners of her lips; vapidly. Airily. Contentedly.

"Those are _his_ eyes!" Naruko says, giving a shake for good measure, "No two are the same. How do you have them!"

"Imsrghhl… Tssll." She replies, gagging with lips spread in a red-faced grin.

Naruko realizes there are times for restraint. She drops the girl and steps back, leaving room to gasp for breath but she doesn't. She falls on her knees and beams. Naruko doesn't understand.

"My name is Tsurugi." She hisses through a bruised esophagus, "nice to meet you."

Naruko frowns. She decides not to kill her just yet.

"Well then?" The blond says impatiently, raising a glowing hand just in case, "how do you have those eyes?"

Tsurugi flashes her teeth. "I don't know… Dad might." With that and little aplomb the girl takes Naruko's hand and tugs her back through the forest at a fair pace. Naruko allows it and pads along silently, eyeing her summoning scroll and trying to think of a place to store it. When, minutes later, the hints of a village peer through the trees Naruko sighs and eats it.

Tsurugi pulls her through the last of the foliage and turns back to crook a winning smile. Naruko doesn't see it. She sees people, a great many bustling people. All of them, _every_, _last_, _one_ of them, pauses in that moment, and turns as one to greet her. They smile, wide and loopy and genuine, without a single hint or nuance of hidden intentions. Their eyes are all red, all carved black to the center. _His_ eyes, are on every last one of them.

The girl with her hand scans the crowd and singles out a man sharing her hair.

"Dad!" She calls out hoarsely, the man jogs over and pulls her up, spinning her around once, twice, three times before he sets her down and ruffles her hair.

"So, so," She starts giddily, Naruko's focus is elsewhere, "Why do I have these eyes?"

He isn't the least bit taken aback by her abrupt and strange inquiry. "Why, you were born with those eyes."

Tsurugi turns to Naruko, and chirps "I guess I was just born with them."

Naruko shoots her dead. Pulps her skull from the bottom jaw up. Her father smiles genially over at her even as his daughter crumples to the ground, a pile of red and grey ash, and she shoots him too. First punches a hole through his gut, then his neck, then his forehead. The other people still smile. Children with their parents, elders and brothers and sisters, smiling irreverent and careless. They don't care.

Mockery. Naruko is upset. She is angry. She is furious. She will not stand for this.

She holds a hand overhead, a bead of ruby chakra shining like frozen amber forms in her palm. In a split-second it dwarfs her, rests in her palm larger than the trees are tall, and just as quickly compresses down and down to nothing but a black dot.

She points and the sky flashes red.

~:~

**Chapter 8: One**

~:~

She points; the orb explodes from her palm, the shockwave strong enough that even before its impact everything within a fifty-foot radius crunches shut like an accordion. The ball bludgeons through building after building, tearing gaping holes through the structures and shaking the ground with every impact before it finally destabilizes. Energy like liquid fire erupts at the epicenter, rising up and up in a blazing tidal wave that grazes the clouds. Two beats, a deep rumbling shakes the air and the blast overcomes her form in a millisecond, traveling for two miles before the concussive energy dissipates.

Naruko stands among the wreckage not fit to be called ash and she doesn't feel victorious. She turns and pads out of the crater, feet sloshing through off-grey sand and wondering, with the last of her fury evaporating off, if perhaps she should have learned what she could of the situation before reacting as she did. Naruko wonders if she will walk into the next village and his eyes will be waiting to greet her with a smile. She wonders: _now what._

She is forgetting something… something important and she knows that much at least, but it doesn't help to know you're forgetting something. There is a pit in her mind reserved for anger, a fragment of the whole that rots in the shinigami's stomach - it is full and she doesn't know why. She pictures a figure, six feet tall and long white hair. It vanishes before she can consider it.

Naruko hops out over the lipped edge and swivels her head around; the landscape is leveled for miles and flaying from radiation but otherwise as it should be. She sees in the distance leafless trees and forest creatures squirming around in their own skin and wonders, in that moment, where her clothes had gone. Naruko then realizes that they were just fabric and likely burned with everything else. A shame, she things.

Naruko picks a direction and starts walking.

~:~

He is waiting for her, if only in proxy. A man stations outside the village's limits; a former guard, still dressed in uniform but no naginata resting at his side. There are no cursory checks, no papers to flash and no bribes to haggle; he flashes her a smile and beckons her through the gate, and Naruko enters. Time has passed since her first encounter and the sight of curved black-on-red eyes doesn't anger her as much as it initially did.

Two steps; Naruko stops and looks around, finding this village roughly the same as the previous. People, just people, roaming around with goofy smiles – not an ounce of strife in the bunch, and more than make her sick, she thinks in response:

"_There is such a thing as a perfect world." _

Her consideration is objectively, purely objective as she walks past a complete family out for a stroll. Whatever had been accomplished and by whatever means these people before her were happy. All of them happy. She continues on for five or so minutes, pulling food from vendors when they pass, and when the path allows she rounds a corner.

A festival in red, in crimson and brown and fetid odors. A woman rests beneath a house to the far right; strung up by her innards like an outdoor chandelier, long since passed and still a grin on her face. Other bits and pieces litter the street; a liver here, a lung there – remnants of a careless surgeon, as if a perfectly healthy human being had been salvaged for their parts. A trail of darkened dirt leads across the street, and her eyes follow it. A man sits, resting in a mess of burgundy rope. A woman passes through the defiled street and he bursts to life; dashes her across the head and slices her open neck to thighs. His face lights up, Naruko can see clearly; wonder and joy and fulfillment as he goes elbow deep– and her too, lips spread thin and wide and red as her eyes. Gravity takes hold; she collapses and he follows after, straddles her waist and digs out her insides, tossing them overhead like a child tossing snow.

Naruko frown as the stench, at the sight, at the black and red pinwheels whirling around her, but she shows restraint. She turns back and continues on down the dirt road. No more blood in her sights from then on, until she ends her trek reaching the outer barrier of the village. Isolated incident or common occurrence, too soon for accuracy and she doesn't care much anyways. Naruko turns back and peruses the population, looking for someone who actually knew anything beyond being working, being joyful and eating.

She finds no one. Not a surprise but annoying. Very annoying. No one comprehends that anything had changed, but they were more than happy to chirp nonsense in response to her increasingly specific questions. They _are_ stupid, vapid at the very least but maybe, she considers, that is part of his framework. Not enough mental facilities to understand anything abstract, anything sad, disconcerting or even slightly unsettling – no one knows they're not themselves, cares, and if they did they wouldn't see the need to do anything beyond keep smiling and tend to their fields.

But the problem, she notes, backtracking towards the other entrance to the village, happiness is subjective, and the man decorating his house with severed limbs gets no happiness from family values or sunshine or folding paper-cranes, and even worse the concept of moderation, secrecy, punishment, remorse; all gone. Naruko sighs and shields her eyes from the nearly faded sun, hovering uncertainly over a lowrise mountain peak in the distance.

Naruko continues on and leaves the man to his messy work, knowing that night would come soon and the commodity of sleep is far more valuable than her curiosity. Time passes, her head tilts back; the sun finally sinks down, the moon, still faint, hangs in the far corner of the sky. She finds a house and disposes of anyone inside, claiming a change of clothes and a stack of futons in place of her mattress but the substitution is as the situation allows and she isn't in the mood to complain. Naruko flops down face first and finds that sleep was waiting for her.

~:~

"Am I dreaming?"

"Stupid question." A pair of floating lips flaps incessantly and Naruko swats at them to no effect. "Of course you're dreaming. Dreaming…. Dreameameaming… Drea-"

"Shut the hell up." Naruko shoots a hole through the middle and grinds her heel into the paling corpse, "If I'm sleeping the last thing I need is you gabbing at me."

She glances up at the blue and green sky, a streak of orange shocking through the middle like a beam of warbling electricity. Masses of rock orbit the terrestrial ground as hard edged clouds, bottom frilled with vines as though forcibly torn from the ground and tossed into the atmosphere. At her feet an overgrowth of skeleton hands, wrists threaded into the soil as the roots of a plant and fingers snapping, each producing a hollow click to the same slow beat. They sprout far into the horizon, with one massive arm in the background, flipping the sun like a two-sided-coin and spinning the surroundings back and forth between silver moonlight and amber warmth.

"My dreams are stupid_._" Naruko comments airily, taking to amusing herself by blasting the orbiting islands with red bullets from an extended finger.

"Very stupid." Adds something or other.

"Not a single leftie in the bunch." Another something or other.

"I can't snap for shit." Yet another something or other, "this is pissing me off."

"I'd imagine so." Says Naruko absently, "it's difficult to snap if you don't exist."

"Ah."

"And, not existing as you do, you can't do things existing things like I can like snapping and getting pissed off and not annoying me."

"That doesn't make any sense at all."

"The trend continues." Naruko blasts a square mile out of existence and the voices go silent. "And you," she shouts at the snapping hands, "shut the hell up or I'll fucking kill you!"

They go silent. The hand flipping the sun startles and flicks far too hard, sending the coin in a graceful arc. Naruko watches with a frown as it climbs overhead and after a moment of hesitation plummets, growing exponentially larger to the point it blocks out the blue-green-black sky. She rears back and plants a fist on the surface as it closes, hurling it back to sender like a massive glowing Frisbee. It cracks against the hand in the distance and shatters, blackness falls like a smothering blanket.

"… Improvement."

Something snaps, the sound of a twig underfoot echoing for the briefest of moments. The blackness shudders and splits, parts as the seams of a patchwork quilt and gushes red sand from within, seven spindly legs for each grain, one talon for each leg and two teeth for each talon. Something breaks, the sound of shattered glass for briefer still. The ground peels away and she drops, falling towards a light darker than the darkness preceding it.

Naruko wakes to heavy, rattling thumps, earthquake-like tremors forceful enough to roll her from her futon pile and crack her head on the wooden floor. Naruko now knows two things:

_Fuck._

_That._

Naruko stands and frowns and pads out and down the stairs, stumbling twice more as the rocking building tosses her side to side. She reaches the ground level, wades through a pile of dust and out the front door. She cranes her head back:

A beast roams the village on all fours – the end of each limb comparable with the house she took for the night – and lumbering through the streets with careful steps, taloned feet straddling house to house and spiked bludgeon like tail held high, nearing the clouds and swaying as a counterbalance. The head cranes down, she can see though only barely, eyes luminous as open flames, spirals of black on red casting light enough to illuminate the streets. It roams, head craned down and perusing the open dirt.

It stops: claws like fullgrown trees fork together and draw back – a man held by the collar between them, a sharp glimmer of tainted metal in his hand… the careless surgeon. The glowing eyes focus, narrow upon his form and the tail bends over the thick midsection, pausing arced before the beast's face and now, Naruko can see, people placed upon the spokes of that massive tail – pinned through the midsection like gory insects to a board and some still wriggling, smiling because they cannot comprehend pain. One free spoke remains, the very tip of the tail, and the beast draws it close, plucks the man up and pierces him down through the middle, the tail drawing back to the clouds and –

Naruko notices with clarity: the moon may cast silver light but the surface is red, deep passionate red, with slivers of black and in the middle, a retina… His eye is on the moon. It rotates, the slivers of black stretching tight around the retina, and as a motor turns a belt it dilates, and she knows with certainty that it can see her. She can feel with certainty, the gentle spur in the back of her mind, a spider prodding with needlethin fangs but unable to penetrate. The moon loses interest shortly, unable to spread its control and incapable of thought more than '_next patient.'_ Naruko is free of his eyes. She turns her focus to the lumbering beast and realizes:

"Shukaku."

Shukaku says nothing. It takes three more earth rattling steps but shows no comprehension.

"Shukaku!" Naruko shouts, thrusting out a palm and firing a ball of energy at its face that destabilizes into a miasmic cloud on impact. Shukaku is not bothered, though that was not her intention. Its focus is still elsewhere. Its front paw lifts up and crashes down into the forest surrounding the village, its eyes trained forwards; two beams of ruby light held four hundred feet high.

"Oi!" The next blast pierces a hole through its midsection. Shukaku shudders as the wound refills with fluid sand and pauses, craning its head back to look. Naruko stands tall with another blast ready in her hand, and as its eyes light up the ground around her she points her hand forwards.

"Tell me!" She shouts if only so her words travel the distance, "what the hell is going on!"

The great head shows no reaction, and a moment of silence passes before it turns back straight and lifts another leg to move on:

Naruko will have none of that. The ball in her hand expands bulbously and two beats pass as it constricts down to a pinprick, she fires and it screams off Shukaku's right leg. The body crashes down, collapsing four blocks of houses and groves of forest under its form with a colossal boom.

She crouches and launches herself up in a spray of bedrock, landing at Shukaku's side as it shakily stands on three legs.

"Shukaku!" Naruko calls, hopping from pile of debris to debris to head with the lumbering giant. "You _will_ tell me!"

Shukaku raises one of its hind legs to continue into the forest and Naruko shoots it off in midair, Shukaku crashes down again and flails as it tries to stand, one foot in the forest and the other on a house smushed flat like an accordion, its midsection carving a trench lined with wreckage. Its movements shake the ground and toss entire buildings into the air that Naruko dodges with little effort: but for all its attempts it doesn't rise again. Naruko hunkers down and launches herself onto Shukaku's muzzle, eyes red under the moon that is no longer hers.

Naruko points a finger between his cart sized eyes.

"Shukaku." She says. Her voice is soft as she stares down at the first of nine, floundering around like an earthed fish, as if unable to find oxygen but too simple to give up. "Talk."

Shukaku's eyes roll in their sockets and eventually, slowly, rise to meet hers. She sees no comprehension in his gaze, nothing more than a glance as his eyes continue off of her and pass up, and up into the sky and focus on something not there. It still tries to stand and Naruko is almost bucked off of her perch.

"Shukaku!" Naruko shouts, blasting a glassy crater into its forehead, "focus! Think!"

Shukaku tries to stand and Naruko blasts off its front arm at the shoulder.

"Speak!"

Shukaku tries to stand and Naruko blasts off its last leg.

"Speak up! Scream, shout! Defend yourself! _Do something_!"

Shukaku has no legs to stand on, lying flat on its stomach, tail raised to the sky and of no use. It begins to inch along the dirt, bit by bit like an unearthed worm, Naruko's face screws up in fury at the sight.

"Where is your _pride_, Shukaku!" She roars at him, planting a foot where muzzle meets face. "Where is that insufferable _pride_ of yours! Look at yourself!" She rears back and smashes a fist down, dropping his head into a crater. She takes another step to stare into his left eye.

"You're crawling in the dirt like a rodent, Shukaku! Like a goddamned animal! You don't just shame yourself! You shame all of us!" She rears back and bashes him twelve feet deeper, again, and again, and again, until Shukaku's head rests with only ears above ground.

"You shame all of us and I will not stand for it!"

Naruko holds a hand above her head, five tails lashing behind her like streams of liquid fire as she drives a sun down on his head. His sand turns to glass. That glass turns to dust. That dust burns to nothing. The tail falls without support, a bludgeon a quarter mile high plummeting to earth but Naruko sees none of it. She sees Shukaku's eyes, and her chakra caustically burning away at his body. The moment before he vanishes, his eyes flash gold, flash a cross with four specks as they should have been. His mouth opens too late and he vanishes in the blast.

Ten beats: the world falls silent once again. Naruko heaves a shaky breath and hops from the crater. She looks down at the wreckage, over at Shukaku's tail falling to the sand it was once composed of. And finally, Naruko looks up at the moon. It is laughing, she can tell. A madman's laugh. She crinkles her nose, narrows her eyes and flashes a finger.

Naruko knows enough. Madara has accomplished something. Something big enough to put his eye on the moon. Big enough to turn batshit Shukaku into a drone and send him on cleanup duty. Big enough to force his will on entire populations and she will have _none of it._ A matter of principal or not, Naruko will not allow him to live so long as she is free. He _is_ somewhere, she knows, somewhere laughing himself sick as his puppets smile worldwide. The thought makes rage bubble up in her stomach.

And she also knows; Shukaku is dead. His body destroyed and his essence sunken back into the earth and it will be a long while before he returns. Naruko knows that Madara would not settle for an incomplete set and she knows that there is at least one way she can hurt him. She can break his toys, track dirt in his house, and eventually he will come to her. Naruko blasts what remains of the village with a negligent hand and knows that she will at least have her revenge.

~:~

Kakashi smiles. The birds are chirping – wait… yeah, the birds are chirping, the sun is shining, the clouds are just the right amount of fluffy, he is drunk off his ass and holy shit is it bright out. Kakashi eases his headband down over his eyes and continues on staggering, all blind and smiles and .19 blood alcohol content. He snags a skewer full of something once-living and a bottle of sake from his once-favorite bar and is neither stopped nor frowned upon for being a public menace.

Things he considers: if his sharingan wants to have sex. Irrelevant, eyes cannot have sex, and even if they could it would be gross and squishy and he wants no part of it.

Things he wants: more sake because some guy spilled it all down his shirt.

Things in his pants: his wallet (empty), a kunai (very sharp, as he finds out one night prior), not him: he is in boxers only.

Things he says: "… Heh…"

Things that matter: staying drunk so he won't have to realize what his friends have become. Closing his eyes so he doesn't have to place his faith in alcohol. Not raping anyone because though the temptation is strong to just _do _the first hot chick he sees it is rape no matter how he looks at it. They'll smile and he'll feel emasculated.

Things that taste like blood: his teeth. Though he may or may not have smashed his face on a counter yesterday, what's to say it's not his liver throwing in the towel.

Things that feel like being stabbed in the gut: hearing Gai politely ask him if they've ever met.

Things that sound like chirping birds: his hand, two days ago, when he snapped and almost killed his best friend because seeing him smile at the moon hurt more than warm blood on his hands – but he didn't, because Kakashi has seen what happens to those who use violence.

Things that are selfish: Kakashi.

Things that feel like tears: those things falling down his face, but they aren't, because Kakashi has no reason to cry.

Things that don't care whether or not he's happy only that he is free: his left eye.

Things that are perfect but make Kakashi sick to his stomach: the world.

Kakashi downs what remains of his bottle and drops it where he wants. He decides to visit Jiraiya. A hand snakes up and draws his headband back, a jaundiced eye squints at the light but works as it should. Kakashi takes a look around, figures out where he is and starts towards the park. He finds another bottle of sake on the walk there and nurses it every other step. The rows of shops end ahead; he can see, though only barely. Greenest trees and grass and bluest water, and benches and children and parents and other things that he no longer understands. His eye roves around, and it finds Jiraiya.

The man rests on a bench. His once long mane of hair cropped close to his scalp, his face full of hard lines, his body scarred and asymmetrical with the loss of his right arm. And his eyes, glowing in red and black, and his lips, wide and serene. Kakashi plops down beside him.

"Hey Jiraiya." The remarkably sober voice surprises Kakashi himself. Jiraiya starts and glances over at him.

"Hello there," he says, "I'm sorry, but, have we met?"

"A long time ago," Kakashi replies, "don't worry about it."

Jiraiya doesn't. "Lovely day, isn't it?"

It was shitting cats and dogs a month back and Jiraiya still complimented the weather. "Indeed it is." Kakashi takes a gulp of sake.

"I'm sorry, what was your name, lad?" Jiraiya questions politely.

"… Kakashi."

Jiraiya's eyes widen a fraction of an inch, the red of his sclera receding as water at low tide. He shakes his head and blinks and when he turns back his eyes are whole once again.

"I'm sorry, what was your name, lad?"

Kakashi had once played this game for an hour straight. It is not fun anymore.

"Rasho_flulubluh." _Drunk gibberish.

"A fine name!" Jiraiya proclaims heartily, as if it wasn't the most retarded thing he had ever heard. He slaps Kakashi on the back lightly. "Lovely day, isn't it?"

"… Indeed it is, Jiraiya." His throat feels dry. He takes a gulp of sake. "Indeed it is."

~:~

**Chapter 9: Two**

~:~

There is a bird on a string, fluttering a perfect circle on the table before her. The man across smiles toothily, eyes beady and pinched, chin curved and body exaggeratedly rotund. Light cast from the candle adjacent illuminates his features, he tilts his head (fondly? Naruko isn't sure) and raises a hand from beneath the cloth covered table, a squared teapot in his fingers. His lips ease, the teapot settles above the leashed bird and he tips it, a little splash of liquid saturating the feathers on every pass.

Three dashes: the teapot lowers away, and his other hand raises, fingers knobbed as the legs of a spider as he takes up the candle and holds it beneath the flight path. The bird catches fire, screeches and crackles, circling still in a dizzying display; the light from its body showing each side of his gaunt face in turn and Naruko can see clearly, his expression twisting serene, the corners of his lips dimpling up. He watches the bird as a mother watches her child. And when the bird grows heavy, pitter patters to the table with its last pained wingbeat, he stands and burns as well.

Naruko remains in her seat, eyes drifting down to the charred little thing still smoldering on the tablecloth. Her hands fleets out and take it up, holding it to the light as the candle eats away at the last of its wick. Her lips fall sober as she sees clearly enough the string still tight around the fragile neck.

"So…" She mutters, easing the bird down softly, "I'm dreaming again… " A breath passes through her nose and her eyes fall. "I hope this doesn't become a habit."

The candle-top sprouts lamprey teeth, circling the center flame in a row of serrated wax. "You are dreaming." It hushes, wick lashing as a tongue and breath tickling the flame blue for only a moment. Around her, Naruko sees nothing but gradient darkness. "But don't fret. I will keep you warm."

Naruko realizes she is cold, skin paled and eyes heavy. She takes up the smoldering candle and holds it close, pulling a squared teapot from beneath the table and pressing the lipped end to the candle's brim, wick lapping at the liquid and flame growing stronger, from withering sparks to red orange. But the candle still drinks and Naruko indulges, flame burning deeper, fading from red to a deep blue. And still the candle drinks, Naruko upends the last of the teapot and the flame burns white. Her skin warms, and Naruko can see by its swollen light nothing more. Only the table before her, and the bird on a string sighing to naught but ash.

"I didn't understand much." Naruko lulls to the candle, warming her palms over the open flame. "About 'dreams.' I had none then. But I do now…"

"I know." The candle replies, flame whispering blue as the wick lashes back and forth. "I am a talking candle."

"It seems to be a hassle." Naruko lilts, "The use… the purpose eludes me."

"Asking a candle about purpose." The candle flickers back, "My purpose has been realized. I will keep you warm in the dark until my last."

"Of course…" Naruko says, the barest of smiles on her lips, "of course… "

~:~

The next village she finds hides in the shadow of a mountain, straddling a clearwater stream running down from the peak. Naruko watches from those icy waters the sun rising overhead, her eyes focused on something not there, her skin pale from cold but soon it would warm in the light, and Naruko watches as the pooled shadow fades back to the mountain. Watches but doesn't see. She wonders what she is feeling – feeling is new, anything other than anger is new. It is heavy, a weight settled in the core of her mind. Unsettling. She flares and dries her skin, pulling a change of clothes from one of the outlying houses and starting towards the center.

It is a simple village, Naruko finds. Encompassing no more than a square mile in total. The roads are flat and maintained, shops line the very center, lit as with every house from a string of wired poles stretching into the distance in either direction. Naruko has no appetite, and the same old faces that smile back excite no passing desire.

She shoots a shop first. Raises a palm and adds new doorways to the front wall and the ceiling. Then she grins and points with a finger, pellets of red exploding forth and punching holes through people, other houses, a particular tree that for some reason irked her. She honeycombs the village to the ground and stands in the wreckage until the sun eases down below the horizon. The night air is cold, and in the shadow of the mountain, moon barely showing behind the high peak, the village falls dark. Naruko can see shattered glass before her, mounds of cracked plaster and splintered wood fade darker still and twenty feet from her form the air turns black – and her blue eyes see nothing more.

Naruko eases down and rests against a support beam, lulling her head back against the grain and resting her arms over raised knees. She waits for some time, moonlight streaming over the mountain peak to her side and flooding the forest at the village's borders – but it remains far off, and Naruko still sees less and less to nothing for twenty feet. Her eyes drift down and focus on the dust and dirt, narrow as an ember flares into existence, rises from the ground as a plant from a seed and lofts into the air.

Naruko reaches out and catches it with an errant hand, tilts her head at the soft blue light streaming out between her caged fingers – that light paired with an even softer heat. She stands and notices at her back, all around her; fire. Little specks of icy-blue flame drift along on the wind, spread thin and glowing faint, stretching both down into the forest and far above her head.

Naruko lets the ember in her hand wisp along through her fingers and turns an eye to the moon, half-over the mountaintop at her back and superimposed eye roving back and forth. Moments pass; more flames laze alone, larger than the sparks preceding them, brighter and warmer still. The moon eases up half-over the mountain, the massive retina warbling and finally settling on her. The flames grow thick, massed and choked as water from heavy rain. Naruko stares back at the moon through the flickering haze, raises a hand and peers out through her spread fingers. Crackling lightning flares along her palm, and an orb of deepening red bursts forth from the skin.

Naruko pauses. Frowns and tosses her hand to the side, the energy exploding forth and overtaking a ball of fire that plumes out from the nearby wreckage. The red only begins to fade when a form bursts from that collapsed structure; a beast on all fours, wreathed and defined by whorls of vibrant blue fire. Eyes like smoldering coals towering high over Naruko's head – though only for a moment. The beast lunges forwards, a claw blistering out to swipe her to dust – but Naruko is strong.

Naruko catches that paw, grasps the middle toe wide as her waist and shoots the entire limb off at the shoulder.

"Nibi." She shouts if only to reach, dropping the arm as the blue blisters to orange and crumples to the dirt. "… Can you speak?"

Two massive tails rear back. The Nibi opens a mouth large enough pluck up a full grown ox and spews forth a ball of orange fire. Two tails flare behind Naruko. A red pellet screams through the fire and destabilizes it into a burning miasma. Through that wall of caustic flames a fully regrown limb bludgeons forth; Naruko bats it away with a hand and, as the Nibi recoils off balance, sends the beast sliding back with a shot to the side.

"Oi – Nibi!" Naruko calls after the beast, eyes burning red, "I asked you a question!"

Nibi picks itself out of its wood and plaster cocoon, its side gouged near through to the other side, vibrant blue energy filling out the wound slowly. The jaws crack open and spew out three more blasts of fire, Naruko stops them with her palm, allows the flames to wash past as she emerges through the blast, untouched, and continue along lazily. The Nibi fills out its wound as Naruko stops before it, the beast looking down on her from three stories up with eyes as hot coals and body as blue flames and already half gone.

A tail lashes out overhead and crashes down. Naruko's eyes lose their fire as the massive whip cracks over her shoulder limply, as a paw wider than she is tall blisters across her side and moves her not an inch, as plumes of fire stream out through its jaws and bake the dirt around to rock and she stands immaculate. Naruko wonders what that feeling in her gut indicates as she watches the second of nine burn itself out; each strike recoils back softer and softer, as with each strike those sharpened blue flames pierce her skin and allow in the instant that the skin remains unknit a burst of ruby red to flare out from within, and wash over the striking flames as ten-thousand hungry mouths.

The Nibi mindlessly strikes and Naruko stands, immovable, immaculate, watching with soft blue eyes as it bats at her, blue flames rearing back – growing scorched and mottled and eventually, the Nibi strikes one last time and falls to the dirt, body hollowed as it washes over the earth in a wave of embers that fade to nothing not a moment later. The flames on the wind whisper out, and the world falls dark. Naruko stands until the moon rises above the mountaintop, and its light finally reaches past the forest and pours over her shoulders.

She remembers in that instant, a mop of hair as silver as the moon, falling long past a pair of broad shoulders in unruly spikes. That hair rests on nothing, features remain blank and formless and Naruko disregards the thought a moment later, it and the peculiar tightening in her stomach.

~:~

"You don't know how good it feels," Kakashi admits over his glass of something bitter, "to talk with someone who's still… _human_."

"I know the feeling." The blond assures, his vibrantly blue eyes crinkling in good humor, "they're not much for conversation."

"Not much for conversation." Kakashi reiterates to himself, and nods, taking a deep gulp from his glass and clacking the thing down on the high-counter. He leans back on his barstool and stretches out his chronically slouching back, nodding again to himself assuredly. "They're really not."

"Really, _really_ not." The spikes of blond hair swish as the man returns Kakashi's gesture and finishes his glass of whatever, resting it down on the counter with a steady hand. "Happier than a… than a… uh…" He tilts his chin down contemplatively and a moment later belches loudly, "I'm not good with - those things. Metaphors?"

"Nah," Kakashi flaps a hand at him, "just a comparison."

"Ah. Point is, yeah, they're happy, but not much else."

Kakashi takes a look over his shoulder and no less than three people wave jauntily. "They are certainly happy." He comments, maybe a hint of amusion in his tone, and had he bothered to ask, his left eye would have kindly informed him that the barstool beside him was empty. But Kakashi is content to order another round for him and his blond haired blue eyed friend, and spend the afternoon chatting with his memories.

~:~


	4. Thirty Shot Strawberries

Title: **Thirty Shot Strawberries**  
>Category: Cartoons » Teen Titans<br>Author: JellyfishBlues  
>Language: English, Rating: Rated: T<br>Genre: Horror/Adventure  
>Published: 05-05-10, Updated: 08-18-10<br>Chapters: 6, Words: 13,585

**Chapter 1: Flies**

- ◊●(O)●◊-

It's small, dull, and as Jinx stands awkwardly on the wooden floor, shifting her weight from foot to foot, she wonders if things should have turned out differently.

She gazes longingly out the apartments single window, focusing more on the splotches of dust than the lovely view of a second, identically bleak complex across the street.

Jinx drops her two duffle bags and sighs. The walls, an off-white sort of color are just the right shade to make her squint, despite the dim lighting.

Jinx doesn't speak and knows that even if she had the energy to she'd remain just as silent. She feels weak, her legs tremble and the city outside the window is not her home, not Jump and it never will be, she isn't sure she wants it to be. She wonders how her friends have fared, if the heavy knot in her stomach will vanish when she wakes up.

The streets out her window have never sounded louder and the walls glow oppressively bright, Jinx covers her ears but the noise just grows louder, as if her surroundings have been stripped away leaving her bare to the city noise. She shuts her eyes tight and breathes and even the air smells unpleasant. Like something rotten swept under the carpet, suffocated but not cleaned.

She feels the start of tears and covers her eyes instead. It is oddly comforting in the dark. Jinx crouches down and breathes deeply.

_In, out._

But what the hell is that damn noise- she wonders, not the streets certainly, but the muffled little buzzing hum of a noise that grates just perfectly at her ears.

_In… out._

Her head hurts enough as it is, and the pitch puts her on edge. It's the noise an insect would make, and instinctually and personally Jinx finds being around bugs both frustrating and revolting.

_In… … ooooout._

Jinx is past frustrated. Everything that can go wrong has and she has had just about enough of everything. The world need to shut the hell up and let her think and if this bug doesn't just die she'll do horrible things to it.

Jinx groans and straightens up, dropping her hands to her sides as she looks around. Unfurnished and featureless her new apartment stares back unamused and she is beyond angry. This bug is _fucking _with her! Jinx squints and checks the hotspots. Window, ceiling, door. She clenches her fist until the knuckles turn white.

The buzz had gotten louder during her search, louder and more obnoxious. Jinx isn't sure what her state of mind is considering how pathologically angry a single insect has just made her but as she looks around she sees the little bastard has only one place left to hide.

It was stuck in the standard issue closet.

She grabs a particularly useless shirt from her bags and rolls it up into a makeshift insect-fuck-upper. She approaches the door like it can and will sprout legs and leap from the window at any moment.

Jinx touches the sliding wooden door and takes a deep breath, channeling all her anger and frustration she whips it open and stumbles back, gagging and wide eyed. Oh the stench, like acrid waste and decay and so much pus her nostrils burn painfully. Insects swarm in thick bulbous clouds, pouring out like smoke from a fire. The urge to retch doubles as her eyes travel downwards. So much blood, on the walls on the ceiling and still it drips, drips, drips. Pools out into the room between the seams of the floor.

And there in the center, just a mass of unrecognizable flesh (and covered black and red flies, layered so thickly she can only glimpse what lay beneath). Speckles of raw pink and ash grey flash through the writhing blanket long enough for her to turn her head and vomit. The flies still attack their meal with abandon and she thinks she can hear them tearing it into little bite-sized pieces.

An undeniable squirming forms in the pit of her stomach and climbs up her throat, and she turns on all fours as she chokes and retches and spits a handful of maggots on the floor.

Jinx staggers out of the room, wide eyed and clawing at herself and at the tiny pitter-patter of feet but all she gets under her nails in skin, skin, skin. She shuts the door and vomits twice more and dry heaves even longer.

- ◊●(O)●◊-

Jinx is a pale mess when an officer arrives, and she swallows heavily when he meets her eye. He is very serious, she realizes as she follows him up the stairwell. All her previous associations with the law included theft, destruction, good natured tom-foolery and a bit of harmless smack-talk but this man has not said a word besides her name. She might have said something to break the silence but if she opens her mouth she's afraid she'll puke, and if she pukes she knows she won't be able to stop.

The former thief is drawn from her thoughts as the steady thump of the officers boots stops. She looks up to see he has opened the access door to the seventh floor and she looses just a bit more of her complexion. If he notices her plight he doesn't say, only beckons her forwards and starts walking again. Jinx thinks she can hear the flies, still humming and tearing and for just a second she gags. She plays it off as a cough and the uniform says nothing.

They arrive at her room all too soon and she looks at him silently. She is far too distressed to notice that there is no buzz. There is no hum. There is no smell. And when the officer walks out of her room metaphorically empty handed and one hundred percent not amused she can't help the confused tears that leak from her eyes.

- ◊●(O)●◊-

**Chapter 2: Custody**

- ◊●(O)●◊-

The officer is surprisingly gentle considering his previous demeanor. He escorts her to the car decked in formality-cuffs and Jinx spends the bulk of the ride to the station with her cheek pressed against the glass, resisting the urge to hex herself out of the backseat. The remaining time spent fidgeting and trying not to catch his eye in the rearview mirror, because something about him and his 'I am _so_disappointed' expression makes her feel guilty and six years younger. Neither of them speak.

Too soon and not soon enough he shifts to park with a few plastic clicks, and helps her passively out of the car. She wonders if in another universe she just sashayed out of a limo. One with diamond bracelets instead of handcuffs.

He doesn't get involved in steering her inside, keeping his hands to himself as she walks in step, and a little part of her is disappointed that she complies with his unspoken commands so readily. Officer gentlemen opens the heavy swinging door for her and Jinx immediately shivers as the air-conditioned atmosphere brushes her skin. She misses the too-hot air outside for a moment before realizing how stupid that sounds. She goes to rub her arms but simply strains and looks at her arresting officer sheepishly. He un-cuffs and re-cuffs her right hand to the bench alongside the main desk and walks off, and she notices how oddly pear-shaped he is. He doesn't say a word and she is a little grateful.

Jinx shifts around uncomfortably. The only sound in the station the steadily paced clicks of the secretaries keyboard as she types away god knows what. Jinx can tell it isn't the most interesting thing in existence, because her eyes are dull, a bit glazed even. She wonders why the station is so empty before realizing that she isn't in goody-two-shoes-ville anymore; she's in merry-merry-go-fuck-yourself-rapeberg, the other officers have shit to do and are likely out patrolling. She then wonders, if that is true, why so much time is being spent on her.

Officer no-fun walks back out from what seems like no where at all, still disappointed and very intent that Jinx realizes his feelings. He unlocks her cuffs and quirks his head towards a door near the back. On the walk over she notes that the room is very small, only one window with shades on the outside. Interrogation? He was going to _interrogate_ her? Jinx follows in after Officer very-disappointed-in-you and takes a seat as he gestures. He takes the chair directly across from her and breaches her personal space bubble by about a foot as he leans over intently. She most certainly doesn't lean back. He takes off his shades with a flourish and folds them in his collar. His eyes are the plainest brown she's ever seen.

He sits and stares with odd looks fleeting across his face, as if considering something dreadfully important. She opens her mouth to explain but he suddenly speaks at that exact moment.

"Look… _Jinx_, was it?" He asks but continues before she can answer. "I don't think you meant anything _bad_ by this whole situation, but… you need to understand that I take my job _very_ seriously." He sighs as if he just flashed his soul to her, "What you did is a very serious crime, Jinx."

Jinx doesn't like how personal he's being and wishes he would lean back a foot or two. But Officer heart-to-heart does not possess telepathy and in fact leans in even closer.

"I just don't understand why you would do something like this. You seem like a good girl, Jinx, a good head on your shoulders. But you must have realized you'd get into trouble for lying about something like this." He leans back in his chair and pats his breast pocket, then sighs and eyes her skeptically. Leaning forwards he speaks in a gentile tone.

"Now I _intend _to let you off with a warning, _but_, before I can even consider that, I need _you_, to tell me, why you _did,_ what you did."

Jinx reacts stubbornly, annoyed that he has the gall to call her a liar. "Look, I _know_ what I saw. I already told you 'why I did what I did' when I called 'you' in the first place, remember?" She gestures around on 'you' and dances around the actual subject out of habit. He notices.

"Oh?" Officer no-bullshit grunts, sounding genuine. "What exactly did you say in this 'call' of yours?"

"I…" Jinx swallows heavily, "I said that there was a… a body. In my closet… " She knows damn well how ridiculous that sounds.

"I believe you also said something about _flies, _a great heapin' _bucket _a flies, were there any _flies _in your closet?"

He is patronizing her and with all the stress in her day she is one wise-crack from hexing him through the wall. Jinx responds through gritted teeth.

"Yes, there were flies."

"-And yet," he responds too soon for it to have been spontaneous, "When I arrived on the scene there was neither body nor flies."

"I know what I saw!" Jinx is too flustered to keep cool and vents just a bit. Her hands glow fluorescent pink under the table and she is lucky he doesn't look down.

He however, keeps level and composed and responds after a moment of silence;

"In your call, you mentioned blood, a body, and flies. There were no stains, no body, and no flies. There was no third party of 'body snatchers' or you would have told me. So either you cleaned it up yourself, or you're lying." Officer I'm-on-to-you-boy rattles off nonchalantly.

Jinx opens her mouth to speak but he cuts her off. She wonders what the hell procedure he thinks he's following.

"This is _serious_," he says, "You purposefully gave the police misinformation about either a murder or a death, that's a criminal offense."

He leans back and his eyes soften a bit. "I would like to let you leave with a warning. But I need to get a reason. I need the whole story. Or…" he trails off for a moment, "…you can spend the night in custody… think things through a bit…" He stands slowly and walks out, telling her he'll be back in five minutes for an answer.

Jinx can either admit to something she didn't do, or, sleep in a cell, on a shit-poor bed, and then admit to something she didn't do_tomorrow_. She considers –_really _considers- just beating the shit out of Officer whatever and walking out. The whole five minutes is spent considering where to kick; groin, or head. Weighing which would be more satisfying. She figures groin has the pain value, but the head has a much better crunch-ish impact, plus she's using her hands so she'll feel it better. It is a seriously tough decision, either target _will_ground him and she doesn't particularly feel like kicking a downed person, no matter how frustratingly annoying they are. She is considering whether or not the testicles make a noise when kicked, like… 'pop' or 'splllsssk' or something when Officer soon-to-be-forever-childless walks back in and takes his seat. She regrets letting herself get taken into custody in the first place.

He doesn't say a word, only looks at her expectantly. Jinx realizes that even if she 'confesses' and is free to leave, she would rather die than go back to her apartment. A night under guard sounds infinitely better than a night in an empty room formerly occupied by a rotting corpse.

She remembers to act conflicted so he thinks there's a chance she'll talk in the morning, he sighs and takes her to a holding cell in the back and Jinx considers herself lucky he never looked up her criminal history.

It is exactly what she expected, small beyond the point of cozy but still big enough to move comfortably, a small elevated cot in the corner and a toilet-sink combo adjacent. He shuts the steel grate of a door behind her and Jinx is comforted in the knowledge that she can bad-luck the hinges to death anytime she wants.

Jinx lays down on her sheet-less cot and curls up, knowing that it makes a better bed than her duffel bags. Truth be told she is just glad to lie down, and she idly wonders if things haven't turned out for the best after all. Jinx hears Officer inadvertently-assisted-living leave the room, he doesn't expect any shenanigans from her. Jinx sighs and nuzzles into the rough fabric and five minutes later she is asleep and relaxed for the first time in days.

- ◊●(O)●◊-

It is dark when Jinx wakes up, too dark for her to see the cot she slept on. Something wet is on her cheek. She draws her fingers to rub it off but a second later another drop follows. Jinx tenses and draws a shaky breath but the darkness is unforgiving and keeps drip, drip, dripping and she is far too afraid to look up. It is dead silent and she is so afraid she can't will herself to make a sound. Jinx is shaking, her heart rattle around in her ribcage. She shuts her eyes tight and draws her legs to her chest. It's warm, she realizes.

Jinx tries to yell but she only whispers to the silence. A wet rip, something hot and wet contacts her shoulder and slops down her bare skin. Jinx jolts and screams and keeps screaming until the lights flick on. She is a sweaty convulsing mess when the grate to her cell swings open and she still doesn't open her eyes.

"Hey, hey… are you alright?" Says Officer concerned as he shakes her gently by the shoulders. He damn well realizes she isn't but there's not much else he can say.

"I… I-I… " Her breaths are ragged and she realizes she is sobbing. She opens her mouth to speak and almost vomits. Jinx swallows hard and tries again.

"I-is there… an-"she swallows again. "anything… on the ceiling?…"

"… I… wh-"

"Please!" she gasps out, "Just… " She wraps her arms around herself and shivers.

"_No_," Officer reassuring says after a brief pause, "there is nothing on the ceiling… now, would you like to tell me what happened?" He asks, genuinely concerned.

Jinx is still shaking but she opens her eyes slowly and rubs her cheek. She brings her hand into view and sees only her own tears. The light burns her eyes and Officer pat-on-the-back looks away awkwardly as she curls up and cries even harder.

- ◊●(O)●◊-

Ten minutes later Jinx has calmed enough to talk coherently and is surprised that Officer feelgood is still in the station. She has no clue to his schedule but knows that she is lucky he was there.

Jinx tells him what happened and Officer doesn't-need-this-shit sees that his convict is a most likely mentally unstable little girl that he does not need having a mental breakdown on his watch. He still listens attentively because it's only courteous and when she's finished he asks her if she's hungry –which she says no to but he still orders a warm meal- and if she would like to make any calls.

Jinx asks for the phone but not for privacy. If he leaves she'll be all alone and something _bad _will happen, and Officer understanding nods.

Before she realizes it Jinx is in a comfy chair wrapped in seemingly the softest blanket she's ever felt, drinking a cup of hot chocolate listening to a dial tone. Officer accommodating does his very best to make her comfortable, because if she injures herself in his station words cannot describe the shit that will rain down on his head.

The phone rings and rings and she considers just hanging up, but there is a click on the other end. A moment of silence and a rough voice says "Hello?"

Jinx is relieved the moment she hears his voice.

"Mammoth, is that you?" She asks with a little smile.

"Ah, this is Mammoth… who's this?" He asks, suddenly crass with an unspoken threat.

"Reacting to the unknown by trying to intimidate it… the sign of a true warrior." Jinx says slyly and she thinks she hears him snort over the phone.

"… Jinx?"

"Yeah… It's me…" She confirms and words cannot describe how much just talking with him calms her down. Mammoth was her security blanket when she was young, her massive brotherly knight in gargantuan back-the-fuck-off armor and he could and would sucker-punch her problems through the wall.

"Are you alright, Jinx? You sound a bit… _off_."

Jinx takes a deep breath and tells herself that she doesn't want to worry him. "Yeah, I'm fine, just… no… never mind… Mammoth… I-"

"If you're going to apologize for leaving, don't. You've got nothing feel bad about, okay?" Mammoth leaves a brief lapse in conversation before saying,

"… Jinx, are you sure you're alright?"

"Yeah, yeah I'm fine." Jinx replies and for a second she actually believes her own lie. "…How are _you_ doing? Giz' driving you up the wall without me there to keep'im in line?"

"…Gizmo… Gizmo's dead, Jinx…

Her heart stops. "Wha- I… " Jinx opens and closes her mouth. Her eyes water.

"H-how? _When_?" She chokes out and is one step from weeping as he responds.

"…After what happened… after you left, things weren't the same. It was a free-for-all like you thought it'd be… and… things were bad, Jinx… really bad. Hell, _we _weren't the same…"

"I-"

"_Don't,_ apologize. Don't you _dare_ apologize. If he was alive… he'd say something really… really rude to you right now… wouldn't he…"

Jinx hears him sigh and she does too. She tilts her head back and inhales deeply because she'll be damned if she cries again.

"He definitely would… probably something a little iffy, even for him… he always had a short fuse."

She can hear him groan. "… oh god… Jinx, _no. _He's dead, Jinx. No more puns. For gods sake no more puns."

"-sorry, sorry," she replies quickly, "couldn't help it…"

There's a moment of silence. Mammoth starts again, "I… uh, well… " He exhales, "We… we were still in Jump after you left. Things were easier without the… well, you know… things were easier but without a common enemy we all turned on each other… that wasn't the biggest problem though… you know our H.I.V.E classmates?" Mammoth pauses to give her time to passively nod to herself, "We lost communication with them… people turned up dead and some people didn't turn up at all… _She_… She killed Giz, Jinx… Killed him right in front of me…"

"… How… " she sighs, "…was it quick?" Jinx asks and it hurts more than she can describe.

"She… it… yeah…it-it was over… pretty quick…" She things she hears something in the background, she can't quite make it out.

"…Who… _Who_ killed Gizmo, Mammoth?" She asks. Officer eavesdropper starts in the background.

"Sh… R-… R-…" He pauses and snarls over the phone, disgusted at his weakness. "I… I can't…"

Jinx wraps into her blanket a bit tighter. "…It's okay… It not like it matters anymore does it… But… whoever it was, she didn't… she didn't hurt you, did she?"

"No, Jinx… She… she got me good…"

"… What happened, Mammoth?"

"She snapped my neck, Jinx… She killed me too…"

- ◊●(O)●◊-

**Chapter 3: Clean Clouds**

- ◊●(O)●◊-

"… She snapped my neck, Jinx… She killed me too…"

Jinx gets goose-bumps down the back of her neck but her response sounds considerably less shaken than she feels. "How can you be dead, Mammoth, you're talking to me right now."

He sounds strangely perplexed as he says, "I… I don't know Jinx… but she wanted me to tell you… she's coming for you, Jinx…"

"What are you saying, Mammoth?" Jinx rambles, borderline hysterical, "This is _crazy_, are you hearing yourse-"

"-Jinx," He interrupts and it infuriates her beyond reason, "-I'm trying to help you, _plea_-"

"No!" She shouts, Officer startled jumps in the background, "No, you listen to me. You aren't dead! You… you _can't _be dead, Mammoth…" Jinx shudders and realizes she's crying. Her fury dissipates and all she manages is a hoarse, "_You can't be dead_, Mammoth… you're all I have left…"

The line is silent but she hears his voice a moment later, and he sounds as sullen as she feels. "… I'm sorry Jinx… I'm so sorry… But… Jinx… " She hears him breathe deeply, "…do you… do you remember, back when we were little-"

"When were you little?" Jinx ripostes quietly out of habit. She hears an amused grunt and just a bit of her spirit returns.

"Fine, fine," he says, "Remember when you were little- before H.I.V.E, before Jump, back when we first met."

"… You mean the orphanage?"

"Yeah," he says genially and she doesn't remember him being so wantonly soft, "You remember the first time we got into trouble?"

"Of course," Jinx replies thickly, and she almost chokes up but continues speaking anyways, "We stole the fridge… and on the way up the stairs you tripped…"

"… that was _supposed_ to cheer you up, Jinx." Mammoth grunts, he almost sounds hurt.

"That was the closest I've come to dying, Mammoth." Jinx responds, exasperated but fondly smiling. She clearly remembers taking ten creaky steps before falling into a shadow, then looking up and seeing energy-conserving death bearing down on her.

"Jinx?" Mammoth's voice snaps her out of her reverie. "… Jinx, are you going to be alright?"

Jinx hears something, a muffled crunch of a noise, like…

"Jinx!"

She jerks her attention back to the phone.

"Jinx… I need you to be _strong_."

She shivers and doesn't know why. "What are you talking about?" And the noise gets louder, heavy thumps and dry scrapes and a peculiar little rasp of a noise-

"I need you to be strong, Jinx… She's coming for you."

"Who?" Her heart pounds away in her chest, "Mammoth, what's happening?"

The wall ten feet from her explodes inwards and showers the interior with heavy shrapnel and dust, The Officer goes flying and crunches awkwardly against a file cabinet. Jinx covers her eyes with her arms and when the drywall rain stops she lowers them. There, she sees in horror, a massive figure. Seven feet tall and barrel chested, shoulders as wide as she is tall but there is no head, and the front spills open like puppet-show curtains. Innards fall to the floor and the wretch staggers towards her, unseeing and dragging its intestines in a macabre show of red and pink. She falls from her chair but the blanket constricts, the harder she tries to escape the tighter it gets and she is too far gone to untangle herself. Jinx breathes in gasps and the beast is before her, seven feet tall, reaching with meaty hands and she realizes that this is Mammoth she is looking at.

Fingers like vices wrap around her arms and hook under her shoulder-blades and she knows through her insane babblings and shrieks that It intends to tear her down the middle.

A bang cracks the air and It jerks, blood black as tar oozes and it turns. The Officer unloads another five rounds in Its arm, sprawled against a chair and a broken man. His left arm hangs awkwardly at his side and he reloads his handgun with a magazine clenched in his teeth. It releases Jinx and hobbles towards him and the Officer unloads round after round but it is not enough. The wretch seizes him by feet and torso and crumples him into a ball; Jinx expects a scream but there is nothing but a wet crunch. It shoves the twitching remains into its chest and the curtains fall, the strings are cut and six-hundred pounds of lifeless muscle hits the floor.

Jinx is sobbing and flat on the floor and she can barely hear the phone telling her to 'be strong, Jinx! Be strong!.' His placid reassurances do nothing and she sits up against a desk leg and weeps and realizes that that was supposed to be _her_ balled up like a used tissue in Mammoths chest cavity.

Jinx hears a noise (and she can't describe it, couldn't even if she tried), she looks up through her tears. The Officer is still alive, she realizes and the thought of his continued suffering is enough to get her off the ground.

She extracts herself from the blanket and walks over to the corpse. Jinx is cautious despite the silence, and in a twisted sense is glad that it landed on it's back and not it's front, because she damn well knows she wouldn't be able to flip it.

It's stomach is bulging and twitching grotesquely, she digs in her nails and claws off layer after layer of thick skin until it parts completely. The Officer is looking out at her, blood bubbles out his lips and water out his eyes. Her tears fall thick, she sobs and reaches out but the sight of him is too much. She whispers something to him, takes his dropped firearm and puts a bullet in his head- his eyes thank her, she can tell and she cries that much harder.

And through her tears a fury unlike anything she's ever felt. An ache, an ripping, tearing of the soul but still more painful. It grows with every moment and she knows that it will never stop growing, never stop hurting until someone pays for this … her... her _brothers_, killed and flaunted under her nose, made into this... this _thing_. Her teeth clench and her hands burn fuchsia. She feels like shouting, and she curses at the walls at the top of her lungs until the flames in her chest wane just a little bit -but not too much; because, she realizes, she will need her anger to face what will happen, and if she looses her anger she's afraid of what will be left.

So when she stops yelling she is still smoldering, and she breathes hard, but not fast. She is not crying, not in the least and she knows where the fuck she's going. She spends a minute cooling off and stands.

Jinx flicks the safety, pockets the Officers handgun, and spends some time searching the station for more rounds. She finds a small weapons store near the back and hexes the door off its hinges. Jinx takes the sight in and sighs. She cannot reliably conceal anything larger than a pistol, and all she sees in way of firearms are two rows of well cared for shotguns. Jinx idly wonders just what the fuck happens in merry-merry-go-fuck-yourself-rapeville that makes it necessary to have this many freaking shotguns but just sighs. There are some boxes on the floor, she opens them one at a time and after two boxes full of solid-core-slugs she hits pay dirt. Jinx checks the magazine to be sure they'll fit and takes a box of thirty rounds. She fumbles around with her clothing but ends up simply emptying most of it into her right pocket and loading the rest.

Jinx does her best to flatten her bulging pockets but after a couple of seconds she gives up. She eyes the vests hanging on the side and considers strapping one on. Jinx grabs one and tests its weight, almost immediately putting it back. For too heavy for her build. Also too bulky once she thinks about it. plus, who's going to be _shooting _at her?

Jinx is almost out of the station when she hears a burst of static. She presses herself against a wall and strains her ears. She hears one... tw-three voices, two male, one female. Female on a radio in a low conversation with the person on the line. She stays low and dares to peek around the corner for a second.

All three are armed to the teeth and dead serious. They are stationed near the busted wall, one is prodding around Mammoths corpse, one is looking out to the streets of the city, the last is staring right. _fucking_. at her.

Jinx pulls back to the sound of a cocking shotgun and dives further into the station, a two inch hole opens up in the wall, where her head would have been if she'd been standing. Jinx scrambles to her feet and runs, despite her furiously pounding heart her years as a thief make her steps soundless, and it is thanks to that that she knows to roll right into a hallway as two pairs of footsteps round the corner behind her. One follows and the other strafes right. Jinx doesn't hear a third, so she knows to duck as the reaches an intersection. The butt of a rifle slams over her head and she knows that it is the Female officer pressed against the corner. She tosses a hex over her shoulder to eliminate the possibility of gunfire to her back. The female officer tosses the rifle as the pink bolt contacts it and pulls a taser from her belt. She is taking aim just as Jinx takes another turn.

The thief rounds the corner and immediately jerks her head to the left, a slug passes her harmlessly and she doesn't so much as flinch at the resounding _whomp_ of it blazing through the walls. She grabs the neck of the shotgun to prevent fire and quickly flicks two hexes at the clasps of his bulletproof vest, it falls off his chest. She crouches under the open palm that would have broken her nose and slams her fist under his ribs through the diaphragm. He arcs forwards involuntarily, she bends her arm and cracks her elbow under his chin.

Footsteps, and she knows that there is now an officer on either side of the hallway. There is a window to her right, she lines her body with his (she has seen the damage those guns can do, and knows that they know that a shot from either side will punch through them both) manipulates the shotgun to the side and punches a round through the glass. It shatters under the blow. The officers are both pulling tasers as she springboards off his body through the open window. Jinx rolls with the landing and back to her feet. She sprints to the outermost window and tosses a hex. The glass rumbles but doesn't shatter; she _feels _a slug whip by her arm and she runs just a bit faster.

Jinx curses to herself and instead throws a barrage at the seams. She is silently praying as she jumps and curls up. Jinx contacts, the whole pane of bulletproof glass is shoved from the wall and falls with her. She extends in midair and lands running. Jinx is already gone by the time the Officers reach the streets.

- ◊●(O)●◊-

Jinx has no fucking clue where she is. The air is acrid with the stench of smoke and she thinks she can hear the city decaying around her. The sky is thick with grey clouds and exhaust, and what little natural light that fights through the haze is blindingly pale; she finds herself squinting despite the clarity. The memory of her confrontation with the Police sits heavier on her conscience than Mammoths corpse and she does nothing to correct her thoughts. Jinx has no money, a shitty little home god knows where and a handgun masquerading as a flabby thigh in her pocket.

Jinx needs to get to Jump before her resolve fails. She has no idea where she is.

_fuck. _

She has no money.

_Fuuuuck._

Assuming the worst is true, she is now wanted for a particularly nasty double homicide, with the dead officer making it personal.

_Fuckity fuck fuck, fuck. Fuuuuuuuck._

She is currently looking at a bustling street, dominantly filled with gruff looking men in either double-breasted suits or gang wear, and the occasional fast walking woman in thick clothing. She realizes that she is cold as she looks at them.

Her stomach growls and she wraps her arms around her torso.

_... fuck._

Jinx has literally had _enough _of everything when cool metal presses against the small of her back. She doesn't even wait for demands; her assailant is not expecting a fighter. She spins her back off the gunpoint in a flash, grabs the wrist and smashes her palm against the elbow while pulling, it makes a sickening crunch and bends inwards. She doesn't give time for them to make any sounds, and smashes the back of her fist in their neck, the fragile bones make pleasing little cracks and they fall to the concrete in a hurry. Jinx walks away calmly.

She has just been near-mugged, and would like very much like to get the hell out of this goddamn city. She hails a cab with the conscious decision that she'll bolt upon arrival.

Thankfully a yellow car pulls up next to her maybe seven seconds later, she gets in quickly and tells the -thankfully female- driver 'Jump city', they raise their brow (and it is open to interpretation what that indicates, Jinx realizes), but pull back into traffic anyways. It takes a moment for her to feel that it is stiflingly hot inside the cab (from one hell to another, she thinks dryly), and she presses her cheek against the refreshingly cool glass. The thought of how sanitary it is doesn't even occur to her.

The motions of the vehicle, the wildly comfortable seat and her hunger pangs lull her to sleep. She dreams of nothing in particular and wakes up hours later painfully groggy and with an aching stomach. Jinx clutches her abdomen and glances out the window. Unfamiliar scenery glances back and she winces at the light. She checks the meter with a glance and recoils as if physically struck, but her appetite has made her weak and the motion makes her head spin. She realizes that she hasn't eaten anything except hot chocolate in two days and the notion almost makes her chuckle.

Jinx sighs and asks the driver weakly, "How much longer?"

"...An hour or so, I'll bet. Hard to say with the traffic-" She says and rambles on for a bit, but Jinx is already asleep. This time there are no dreams, and she wakes up slowly to the insistent voice of the driver telling her 'we're here'. Jinx takes her time and gathers her strength. She tries the handle to the door to no effect, realizing afterwards that there really were measures in place to keep her from dashing. The driver notices what she's trying and is really, really not amused. The meter beeps in the background, as if saying 'pay. pay. pay-.'

Jinx groans. She flicks a hex (dull pink this time, she really is hungry...) at the door and the locking mechanism fails, she slams it open and slides out, immediately breaking into the best facsimile of a dine-and-dash she can manage. It is getting dark outside, Jinx assumes it is around six-o-clock. She doesn't hear anyone following but runs anyways. Her legs _are _noodles, and she's fairly certain that she doesn't have the strength to stop on her own power.

The streetlights around her glow dulcet yellow. Jinx is in a residential district, she realizes. The houses are close-knit and carbon copies of each other, but short in stature and the air is too clean - a lovely shadow of a true city. Jinx turns around a corner and keeps running, every step hurts and her stomach clenches uncomfortably.

The thief knows she will not make it unless she finds food. The wind is harsh and unforgiving, she is too jittery to notice she's shivering. She has no money and there are no restaurants for miles. She must smell and look an awful wreck. She is stressed beyond belief.

Jinx picks a house.

Any house.

- ◊●(O)●◊-

Jinx is lucky, she knows, that the home she picks is empty. But she really, really doesn't care. The door is easily opened and just as easily shut. Immediately she notices how mild the temperature is, refreshing, almost.

The thief takes a deep breath and checks her pockets. The gun is there, so are the bullets. Good, she thinks. She leaves the lights as they are, her eyes see in the dark so it doesn't effect her anyways.

The fridge is her first stop, she grabs at things and shoves them in her mouth blindly, things that go _clunk _against her teeth she tosses over her shoulder, things that taste good she takes a bite, things that taste bad _don't_ and she eats them anyways because she has never been this fucking starving in her entire life. Things have never _tasted _this fucking good in her entire life.

But then she gags and vomits a chunky paste onto the floor. _eat slower, _she reprimands, and doesn't think about how little she cares that she just threw up.

Jinx stops heaving a minute later. This time she gets liquids first, only a sip at a time. She does the same with food and eventually she knows that there is enough sustenance in her stomach. She wipes her mouth on her sleeve and pats her abdomen reassuringly.

Jinx looks around for the bathroom and finds it upstairs. She starts the shower and washes her hands before rummaging around the house for a change of clothes (and a ziplock bag); she finds some soon enough and brings them back upstairs, her strength is returning, she thinks with a wan smile, her steps are strong and solid.

Her clothes come off so easily they may well have disintegrated, she realizes how torn up they are as she holds them in her hands. Jinx chuckles and fingers a hole in her shirt, those Cops were pretty good weren't they.

The firearm she sets on the counter and the bullets she plops in the sink for convenience, they make an awful racket but she couldn't care less- the shower is calling her, but she has the sense to crack a window before stepping in, god knows what steam can do to a handgun. Maybe. well, she wasn't going to risk it at least.

The water is liquid heaven on her skin, she imagines layers of filth lolling off her and she relaxes so much that she near falls asleep standing. There are economy sized jugs of shampoo, conditioner and body soap in the corner; she uses a handful of each, at the least, and she steps out half an hour later smelling intensely of artificial strawberry. "I'm clean", she thinks, "clean is good."

Jinx rests her arms her sides and breathes deeply. Her skin pleasantly tingles against the cool air from the window, her stomach is content, and she dries herself off in a daze. The Officers handgun sits on the counter, near the sink; quite useless against what she may face, she realizes, but it is a security blanket, not a tool.

Jinx dresses slowly, and she thinks about how fucking _good _the fabric feels as it brushes on her skin. The clothes are on the loose side, good for her acrobatics but easy to catch on things, a trade off not necessary in her old uniform. She sighs it off, cocks the pistol and shoves it in her pocket, eyeing the safety so she remembers where to press. Jinx scoops the bullets from the sink and pours them in the plastic bag, the bag goes in her other pocket, pursed end up and easily opened -she checks twice to make sure. Then she checks again.

Jinx sets up pots and pans by the front door to make a racket if opened. She picks the room furthest from the it, an upstairs bedroom with a king size mattress, and sets up an alarm there as well. She sleeps over the sheets and fully clothed, she forgets her worries for just a bit and sleeps with a tiny little smile. Her dreams are filled with strawberries.

Strawberries.

Rot.

Flies.

Flies.

_Flies_.

- ◊●(O)●◊-

**Chapter 4: Snap Snap Heartbeat**

- ◊●(O)●◊-

Jinx wakes slowly despite her ominous dream and when she opens her eyes nothing out of the ordinary meets her sights. It is raining heavily outside, a chorus of water rattling nonsense on the windowpane. The sound is oddly grating for a reason Jinx doesn't know and doesn't much try to consider. The room is dark and she doesn't know how long she's been asleep, or even a rough estimate of what time it is; though the window is pitch black from where she's sitting, far too dark for it to be a reasonable time to be awake. The thief considers falling back to sleep but the rain is unforgiving, too substantial to be relaxing.

Jinx takes a deep breath and smacks her head against the mattress before standing. She checks her pockets out of habit and is perplexedly relieved that everything is as it should be. Jinx forgets the alarm she set by the door, and near jumps from her skin at the sound of clanging metal. She is annoyed with and cursing at herself as she goes down the stairs. The moment she enters the kitchen she regrets her daze from the previous day. The remains of her stomach are still on the floor and various food items and broken glass littered here and there; it smells terrible but doesn't bother her all that much.

Jinx steps carefully over the shards and food items and tosses a rag from the sink over the least pleasant mess. Jinx grabs some food from the fridge and eats in silence but for the crinkling rain and finishes not much later. The thief dumps what remains of the food in the sink, the microwave adjacent flashes '3:15' in blinding neon green. Jinx makes a dull throaty noise at the sight and wonders just what the hell she's doing up at this ungodly hour. She eyes the window above the sink; it is just as black as the window upstairs, and the water pinging off of it is just as loud. Jinx just blinks and starts back upstairs.

It is on the very top stair that Jinx realizes something is wrong. She can see through an open door into another room. An alarm clock stares back, and in dull red it says '3:17 pm' and Jinx shivers just a bit. She realizes that falling water is blowing against the glass and she cannot hear any wind. She realizes that it is 3:17 in the afternoon there is not even the smallest bit of light outside.

The thief walks silently and ignores the growing unease in her stomach. She enters the room she spent the night in and it has never seemed so dark as it does now.

Jinx approaches the glass with silent apprehension. The rain sounds peculiar; almost a bit tinny. Metallic even. She can't place the sound but when she is before the window the darkness sprouts off-white wings and parts as if on command.

It is raining blood outside; clouds drift like orbiting giants, bleeding their lives under the unearthly red sky. Flies swarm and graze against the glass in a blind lust and Jinx bites off a gasp. She falls and scuttles back on her hands.

A wet _shluck _and something plops on her chest; browned, reeking of decay and a curved row of white and Jinx knows that this is a human jaw she's looking at. She inhales a scream and rolls left to the sound of pierced fabric. Jinx dares to glance back; and there is Gizmo. Two feet tall and rotting where he stands. A serrated knife in his hand, and another in the carpet; blades sprouting from his distended stomach like a bed of nails. He pulls one loose and Jinx nearly vomits.

A ghastly smile on his face, whatever remains of his upper lip curves and his tongue slops to the ground. The flies bash against the window and he pirouettes towards her; bits and pieces falling behind in a slop of gore. Just the sight of him (and she tries to think 'It', but Gizmo can never be an it) revolts her beyond words. Jinx scrambles back and rolls to the side as a knife pierces down. Gizmo pulls another from his stomach and the flesh stringing out with the handle is too much; she screams and doubles back to the door. In her hysteria she fumbles with the handle while Gizmo drunkenly plods over to her, viscous clear liquid bubbling from his mouth.

Excruciating pain and something inside her snaps. Jinx isn't sure what happened but when she blinks she sees the gun in her hand -and she's still pulling the trigger: _chk-chk-chk-chk_- , Gizmo is on the floor, his skull spattered behind him. She looks down and there is a knife in her thigh, it has to be deep because nothing has ever hurt so much in her entire life. Her empty hand grasps the handle without instruction and yanks hard; her vision flashes white and her legs buckle- she slouches back against the wall and falls on her side; the handgun dropped and out of reach.

Slowly oozing blood and dazed and throbbing Jinx can still see Gizmo unsteadily getting to his feet; skull fragments and grey matter all gathered into a ball and held in his arms. Her head droops and the room spins into a red and black blur. Jinx breathes unevenly, and the last thing she does before the world snaps shut is toss a hex at the floor.

- ◊●(O)●◊-

Jinx is unconscious for almost an hour, and when she opens her eyes the room is bathed in blinding sunlight. She focuses on the new hole in the floor for only a moment before the peculiar feeling in her leg draws her attention. She shakes as she probes the wound with her fingertips. It is on her inner thigh, stunningly close to the junction of her legs but the fact that she is alive means it avoided everything important. She is almost positive that it merely slid along right under the skin, barely grazing muscle and avoiding the major artery by a wide margin.

Jinx sighs and prays that her meta-human immune system is enough to prevent infection; she stands carefully and with every intention of washing it out to the best of her ability - her steps are stable and relatively painless despite her light headedness, she walks along the wall to retrieve and reload the handgun she dropped in the corner.

The weight is comforting in her pocket and the ten less bullets in the other less obtrusive, less glaringly bulky. Jinx takes one more moment to peer down the most likely irreparably damaged room with a whistle before washing out her leg in the shower. The water that circles the drain is red for about twenty seconds before clearing and upon observation Jinx realizes how ridiculously lucky she was. The stab was utterly ineffective, entered from the back of her thigh, slid right under the skin and poked out the front. Painful as hell being such a sensitive area but still not very serious compared to what it could have easily been.

The Thief flexes her leg carefully and is immensely pleased to find that other than a slight twinge of pain she is feeling just fine. A new pair of pants without a hole later and she is walking down the stairs. She stops at the bottom and looks around the corner to see the wreckage of her hex, the floor bathed in broken wood and drywall and no Gizmo among the pile. Jinx isn't sure how she feels about that but the sun pouring through the windows says she doesn't care.

Jinx pauses at the door to silently apologize for the unholy mess that she has made of some poor bastards house. But only for a moment. Then she opens the door and smiles uselessly at the unamused face staring back at her.

Jinx is surprised for about an eighth of a second, and while she is surprised she imagines he is surprised too with his hand outstretched; he must have tried to open the door just exactly as she did.

However next to his face is his other hand, and that hand holds a pistol. And that weird black thing on his chest is definitely a bulletproof vest. And that bump on his chin makes her elbow twinge in recognition.

Jinx curses to herself for another eighth of a second, then she smashes a foot between his legs and falls back, out of habit closing the useless door behind her. Jinx almost goes for the something to bar entry, but a hole opens in the door and Jinx just turns and runs.

Jinx bolts to where she assumes a backdoor is, and entering the hallway another head pops around the far corner; this time the female officer. The thief's silent steps don't catch her off guard this time but she still isn't fast enough. Two bolts of pink flash, one to her standard issue shotgun and the other to the floor. The Officer makes to hurl the weapon at the thief, but as she rears back the floor shudders and cracks down the middle, she stumbles backwards with a barely audible curse. A rumbling groan and hallway collapses a foot behind Jinx, brown floorboards snap and part like a wave of groaning water. Jinx's curse is very audible, she sidesteps and does her best to keep to the wall as she runs forwards.

The floor completely fissures under her and Jinx jumps not a moment to soon; she springs from wall to wall for the remaining distance, and using the Officers shoulder as a platform launches herself to the next room just as the hall folds inwards.

The thief lands flawlessly and almost dares to grin as she sees the backdoor not twenty feet from her- but she knows that she has only seen two Officers so far. The third is frolicking about somewhere on the premises heavily armed and most likely pissed right the fuck off; the first is probably still groveling in the front yard, gently cradling his man-sack and weeping as he shoots the shit out of the door. Not a good combination. Jinx strains her ears and hears nothing. The backdoor opens easily and without the squeak that she's come to expect from backdoors in general, and Jinx feels slightly put off as she bolts into the glowing sunshine.

-And oh _fuck_, did she kill that chick? Jinx wonders what a three foot fall and a collapsed ceiling does to an unsuspecting and probably horizontal person. The fall wouldn't break anything, but the rubble might smother her. Unless the second story didn't collapse too... well, whatever.

She also wonders if she popped that mans testicles, because she kicked them _really _hard. Like, 'there's an imprint of them on her foot' hard. His fault for not wearing a cup though.

Jinx sighs and realizes that she really doesn't care either way.

She wonders if she should... a little.

Then there are spikes in her neck and teeth in her skull.

Jinx falls and the ground has never felt softer.

- ◊●(O)●◊-

Jinx is fairly annoyed when she blinks awake and her first thought is 'which of these fuckers tased me?'. Out of habit she hexes her way of the handcuffs, though still holding her hands behind her back as she sits up.

She is in the backseat of a squad car, a pane of bulletproof glass between the back and front seats, the -she assumes- third and most unharmed officer drives and Officer nutshot rides shotgun, still slouched over just a bit and she almost snickers.

Jinx glances outside and knows they've left Jump a while ago, because she doesn't recognize a single thing through the window.

"...You think we could turn this around?" She asks, if only to break the sort of estranged silence they'd built up.

Officer Nutshot coughs into his fist while the other keeps on driving.

A grin quirks her lips. "Oh, silent treatment is it?"

She pulls her arms from behind her back and chuckles as she sees a mass of handcuffs instead of the one she expected. Jinx twirls them in her hand lackadaisically.

"So, what's up? How you guys doing? Especially _you_, how's the groin? What's it's status? Operational? Is it- is it operational? Fantastic. Fan. _Tastic. _That's just jolly."

Someone up front takes a deep breath, and even though Jinx really doesn't feel like talking one bit she needs to vent at them for costing her so much time.

"You guys gonna' want these back?" Jinx whines as she jingles the restraints, "'Cause I think I broke 'em. Like, seriously. Broke the _shit_ outa' these things." She jingles them even louder.

"Can't you hear it?" _jingle, jingle_

"Seriously," _jingle, jingle_

"Can't you just -just _hear_ it?" _jingle, jingle_

"This just sound so - so _irreparably_ broken to me!" _jingle jingle jingle jingle-_

"There's like little parts or something in there, _definitely broken- _and I see no possible- nay, _feasible_ way, to repair these handy restraining devices."

Jinx pauses and lets her ramblings soak in for a bit. "_Hey_," Jinx leans in and presses her face against the glass as she says "Where's the missus? Did you guys leave her back there? There wasn't even that much shit on her! Hey, hey, she's probably only a _little_ smashed. I mean, one time I sat on a cupcake and it was still pretty good. Delicious even. Best fucking cupcake I've ever eaten. So... become cannibals," Jinx chirps brightly, "Yeah. She's still good flavor wise, just a little crunchy. Put a little salt on her, oh it'll be fantastic - you'll see! Hey, where're we going? Roadtrip? Cool. that's cool."

"If she doesn't shut up I'm going to kill her." Nutshot blandly says to the Driver. The other Officer goes to say something but Jinx blows a raspberry on the glass and promptly begins clawing at it.

"How're you gonna' do that huh?" Jinx rattles her fingernails against it, "Sounds pretty solid to me. Probably bulletproof, keepin' 'ya safe from bad seeds and chronic masturbators with good aim."

Jinx flicks the mass of restraining stainless steel at it and the abrupt noise startles everyone in the car.

"Well shit, it's even handcuff proof..." Jinx trails off and turns her attention to the road. The number of houses dwindle and the sidewalk gradually vanishes. Instead dull green grass lines the tarmac with a frail-looking guardrail on the right.

Jinx sighs.

"... for what it's worth, I'm sort of sorry about this..."

A flashbang of pink and everything goes wrong at once. The engine grinds and probably explodes, all four doors fall off, the electronics in the front rattle off sparks and Jinx leaps from the car to the grass not a moment too soon. She tucks and rolls to a stop, dizzy, bruised, and covered in grass stains but she'll take grass stains over road burns any day of the week. the squad car looses its tires, swerves and flips end over end, finally coming to a screeching stop a good distance away.

Jinx doesn't expect or want much blood but the half of the driver lying in the streets gives her a moments pause. He is reaching for her, pale fingers and a phantom curse on his lips but when she blinks he is dead on the ground, pouring onto the concrete like a tipped glass. And maybe for just a second, in the waning golden sunlight Jinx regrets everything she's ever done. Everything she ever will do, because there will be no time for regrets later.

When she staggers to her feet and starts back towards jump, no part of him sits heavy on her conscience.

- ◊●(O)●◊-

Jump city is scary at night, and far be it from Jinx to admit to something so childish the darkness gives her chills. The uniform buildings stand tall, oppressively looming over her in the dull streetlight gloom. She is tired and hungry and itchy from the damn grass stains. Her legs burn, she hopes it's from the exercise and not infection.

Jinx realizes that night is a bad time for her, especially outside and especially in Jump but fuck it if that isn't where she is. Her pockets are conspicuously empty and the lack of weight unsettles her more than the cold night air. She shivers and wraps her arms to conserve heat but the night is unforgiving.

The sky is as black and indistinguishable as tar, the streetlights glow faintly twenty feet in the air, casting weak yellow circles on the sidewalk. The street is empty but for the parked cars lining the sides, and no street side house windows are lit. Even to her hypersensitive eyes the city is black.

Minutes in her breaths become strained and heavy as she walks in the darkness, and every time her feet touch the ground images flash behind her eyes.

_step_

A massive figure, front jaggedly torn open and insides spilling to the ground-

_step_

his form blotting out the ceiling as he reaches blindly-

_step_

headless and still staring at her, holding her up with cold fingers as she chokes on her breath-

_step_

Another figure, tiny and wobbling unsteadily, rotting and wheezing and coming straight at her-

_step_

a lip spreading grin bares rotted teeth as his jaw slops to the ground-

_step_

balled up flesh in his arms like a child holding a Halloween basket-

The streetlights flicker to a high electric warbling and Jinx collapses in on herself, muttering curses under her breath. A knot forms in the pit of her stomach.

She shudders and breaks into a jog, keeping her eyes peeled under the crackling yellow light- but as her shoes clap against the concrete the city goes dark. The alleyway shadows are full of demons, red-eyed scrawny and hooked like a mass of razor wire, snapping their fingers to her heartbeat and licking silver moonlight from their teeth.

She shakes her head and claps at her ears with abandon, wide eyed and gasping she pelts into the night- but the alleyway shadows are quick as they slather after her, smoothly grating against the tarmac like the death-rattle of a snake.

"You're hallucinating you idiot." Jinx gasps, "You're hallucinating and you need to calm down - you don't have the time for this, Jinx."

The razor wire shadows spread a ghastly grin, silver teeth gnashing in anticipation. They reach for her, fingers spindly and knotted like spider legs, grasping at the air with hollow chitinous clicks.

"Get in the light-" Jinx pants urgently, "Get in the light before you do something stupid."

"-Get in the light!

"-_Get in the light!"_

"There is no light!" she screams but receives no answer.

Tiny hairs graze her leg, the moonlight-filled mouths open-

"It's alright to be afraid-" She says with burning lungs, "everyone gets scared sometimes - but look around you, Jinx what's there to be afraid of?"

Cold fangs drive into her calve, sticking in her leg like railroad spikes but the pain is far away. And as Jinx looks down all she sees are her own two feet pounding against the concrete.

"You see, Jinx? Nothing to be afraid of..."

The streetlights aren't flickering, maybe they never were. The thought isn't reassuring.

"Now stop talking to yourself."

"_Idiot_."

Jinx turns and runs. She finds a house with no cars and is inside quickly.

The first thing she does is flicks the lights. She spends half an hour in front of a T.V eating whatever's in the fridge, and eventually she calms enough for a shower. Jinx sleeps next to a wooden block full of knives she took from the kitchen and she sleeps with both the T.V and the lights on.

As she wakes up in the morning she finds two knives in her hands and an empty room.

"... I think I'm loosing my mind."

- ◊●(O)●◊-

**Chapter 5: Steak Knive Serenade**

- ◊●(O)●◊-

"... I think I'm loosing my mind." Jinx mutters to herself, dropping the pair of death-gripped steak knives and covering her eyes with her palms. The television blares in the background and sunlight streams in from the kitchen window. Jinx sits up on the couch, rubbing her eyes.

She groans and pulls her hands away and there is Mammoth, shoulders grazing the ceiling and reaching and she can _feel _his hands grip her-

She blinks and he's gone. The she blinks again and again and claps her cheeks with a sigh.

"... I uh... huh... I'm... loosing my mind. _Great._" Jinx takes a deep breath and places her elbows on her knees, resting her forehead on her palms.

"...Of course you're not, silly pants." a girlish and incredibly piercing voice chirps at her. Jinx starts violently and looks around the room, pulling another knife from the block on the coffee table.

Jinx has had a rough night. Rough enough that she had to sleep with the lights on for the first time in eleven years. She is tired and sore and unbelievably groggy so she feels she can be excused for not being the least bit courteous.

"Who's there? Come out so I can fucking _stab _you!"

"Over here." it says, disgustingly perky.

"...Over _where _goddamnit! That doesn't help!" Jinx snarls, looking around wildly.

"In front of you silly!"

Jinx jerks her head around from her shoulder to see... nothing in particular. The television rests lazily on the wall and the room is as it should be.

"See?" it says and Jinx furrows her eyebrows. She spends a moment trying to rationalize up a scenario where the television could not possibly be speaking to her in the voice of an infuriatingly high-pitched little girl, because things like this can't and shouldn't be happening to her right now. She feels almost obligated to say something with the distended silence the appliance has left hanging in the air, but it speaks up before she can open her mouth.

"See? See see _see_? I'm right here!"

"...I... this is... I... I don't..." Jinx makes vague and exasperated gestures in the air for a couple of seconds, throwing them up, pointing around at key items, and just flailing about in general. She gives up shortly and drops her arms with a sigh.

"Well shit, I really am crazy..." Jinx sags her shoulders and prods at her temples.

"_Nooo_!" it whines, growing more and more piercing with every syllable, "No yer' noooot!"

"Not crazy." The table adds.

"Perfectly healthy!" the toaster bellows in from the kitchen.

"Well this is just dandy. Congradu-fucking-lations Jinx. You're now officially a crazy person."

"You're not crazyyyyy!" The televisions snivels, managing to sound both morbidly upset and manically upbeat at the same time.

"Not in the least." Chimes the remote.

"Where did the knives go?" The toaster.

Jinx exhales a breath through her nose and plops back down on the couch. She grabs her head and shakes it just a bit, hoping that the sudden movements will just _fling_ off her bout insanity because this shit can _not _be happening to her right now.

"You're not crazy, Jinx." The couch assures in a deep rumble. "You of all people should know that."

"Just like I saaaaid!" The T.V.

"Seriously, where are the knives?"

Jinx cranes her neck long enough to shoot a contemptuous glance at the television. "You know- I mean... _I _know..." She plops her head back in her hands. "... talking to inanimate objects sort of proves my point."

"Well it would," The couch says, it's voice rattling her ribcage, "but this is simply a hallucination. You have far too much stress my dear. Far, far too much stress."

"Too. _Much._" The TV adds emphatically.

"_Far_ too much."

"And life is such a fragile little thing - I'm afraid that you became overwhelmed by your intermittent isolation - You yearn for a bit of normality - a bit of _structure,_ in your life, until you can get it in order... You still think of your friends - and despite your best efforts you are losing yourself - you can't remember _why _you are here, what you came here _for _and without that knowledge there is no motivation, no_structure_. things like these just build up, you see - and your uncertainty and fear and sleep-deprivation have caused a hallucination."

"...Your honesty is appreciated -man." Jinx blathers through her palms.

"This was bound to happen eventually Jinx. Even she saw this coming."

"But... she's tired of waiting for you."

"Far too tired."

Jinx glances up. "... what now?"

"You must have seen this coming, Jinx. You think her patience is limitless? All things must come to an end."

"So she's decided to just kill you."

"You know how impatient she is."

"She'll tear you apart."

"Leave your body in the streets."

"Let you rot"

"I..." Jinx only stares around the room wide eyed. She shivers at the silence, extended and cold and for a second she can see them again. The five in a semicircle; a tower of groaning steel that blots out the sun. But the next moment she is in the room again.

"He is in the kitchen. Don't make him wait."

Jinx turns and Mammoth stands in the doorway, one hand grasping the edging so hard it splinters and the other limp at his side. His chest spills open, just as it did before. Insides hollowed fleshy pink, ribs like gnashing teeth. He walks towards her, Officer hero noosed in intestines and pulled behind like a ball-and-chain.

Jinx doesn't waste a moment. She flips back over the couch and sprints to the door, tossing hexes over her shoulders aimlessly, hoping to bring the house down on his shoulders.

His steps are lumbering but he advances quickly and she can hear him behind her, his shuddering exhales fogging the air. Jinx throws a bolt above her head and dives into the next room. The ceiling collapses behind her, support beams snapping like toothpicks and crunching into the floor. One catches Mammoth across the chest, knocking his blind grab off course. Jinx scrambles to her feet and sprints outside she hears the sound of the house crumbling, and as she hits the street it collapses. A plume of dust and shrapnel explode out and pummel her back but she barely feels the impacts. Barely feels much of anything.

Pumped full of adrenaline Jinx turns back to the wreckage, it is just as empty as she expected. Jinx shudders and starts walking, hopping onto the sidewalk across the street. In the distance she sees a mass of birds, flecks of grey circling against the burning orange sun.

- ◊●(O)●◊-

**Chapter 6: Hush City**

- ◊●(O)●◊-

It's the stench that hits her first. Several blocks from the ominous circling birds, a nauseating wind, heavy with rot and pestilence and the barest hint of copper. Jinx winces and instinctively grasps at her stomach, already feeling the telltale lurch of her abdomen. She breathes heavily through her mouth, covering it with a hand as a filter -though she knows it has no effect the gesture helps her breathe easier.

Her heart writhes around in her chest but Jinx keeps walking. Each step harder than the last as the odor gradually overpowers her; as the din of screeching birds grows louder and louder, like rending claws tearing at her eardrums - but Jinx keeps her tenuous resolve, bubbling down in her stomach she grinds through her nausea, and before she knows it the cyclone of birds looms overhead. And in that instant she realizes something that she should have a long time ago.

Her first moment in Jump; that house she broke into. It was empty and she considered herself fortunate. The second, after the night scare, it was empty too and again, just her luck to find an empty house. But vehicles line the streets, doors hang open left and right, windows dark and seats empty...

"...God..."

All of Jump lies in the streets: men, women, children - piled high, stripped red and seeping onto the pavement - filling the gutters with congealed blood; tarmac glossed and shining ruby in the burning sunlight. Crows still pick at the corpses, stringing pink meat from their beaks, baleful paired-crimson eyes and caws like distaff screams. Jinx turns and retches on the pavement, falling to her knees as involuntary spasms arc her back forwards.

She considers running. Getting to her feet and running out of that place of death and pain - but only for a second. It only takes her a second to realize that this - the lurching stops and she peers up - _this_, is because of her.

Jinx stands on unsteady feet. Her stomach empty, her heart weak - but Jinx still stands. She stands and walks through the streets, red flaking under her footsteps, passing mound after mound of bodies as the world goes silent. The birds regard her, eyes full of unearthly sentience.

"So you came?" a voice cuts the hush. Velvet smooth, throaty and pleasantly low but she shivers deep in her spine. Jinx turns slowly - a figure lies reclined on the viscera, chin set imperialistically on a delicate palm, slender fingers curled on her cheek. Fog grey skin, only marred by splotches of off-maroon. Four eyes, shadowed by a drawn hood glow, leering with infernal light.

Jinx's mind grinds to a halt. " ...you're dead."

Two hands grasp her midsection - massive fingers digging into her stomach as they lift her into the air.

"...No. I'm not dead, Jinx." Raven says with a smile full of mirth. "But they are. I'm sure you remember that, don't you Jinx?"

Jinx does. She remembers the tower, so massive it blocks out the evening sun- a pink flash - the sound of bending metal, a low groan so resounding her ribs rattle and grind. Mammoth grabs her and Gizmo, hurls them over his shoulders - through the windows into the ocean - before turning and diving himself. Jinx remembers falling but more than that, the structure collapsing, contorting, hundreds of thousands of tons of steel crushing down to the earth. She remembers floating in the water, staring with wide eyes as she realizes that she just killed the Titans.

"Robin... Beast Boy, Cyborg - they all died; crushed. Pulped." Raven offhandedly comments, rising to her feet in a bonelessly lithe motion, "Starfire lived long enough to see them dead-" The titan flashes a broken grin "She couldn't go on; keeled over on the spot. But I..." The gargantuan hands holding her clench painfully- "I lived. They all died and I lived."

The girl sighs wistfully and fingers dig deeper into her stomach, "Did you know? They were the only ones to accept me... Even after I almost end the world they still accept me... But you killed them, Jinx."

"-I didn't mean to-" Jinx cuts off with an agonized scream. Mammoth digs in with his fingers, piercing, rending, he rips her stomach open; thumbs pushing, pushing, pushing on her spine until it snaps under the force. _He flips her inside out_ - and this time it's her intestines falling to the ground.

_You killed them, Jinx. _She hears in her head, a cruel and lonely voice, barely audible over her own hysterical cries. _You killed them, and now I'm going to kill you._

Raven shoves a clawed hand in her bared ribcage but Jinx doesn't feel it. She stares up at the glowing sun, lips parted in a soundless cry. Her eyes watering in the light but she still looks; the sky is the bluest she's ever seen; breathtakingly so and she wonders why it took her so long to notice.

Jinx feels light - weightless; black spots dance in the edges of her vision. She drops harshly to the ground; roughly eviscerated she lands. Tears streaming from her eyes she looks up at the sky, her eyelids closing, her body numb. All this time spent, all this time wasted and she dies on the streets, alone. Just her luck... She wonders if she'll see her friends where she's going.

The world goes dark, cold; and the crows pick her dry.

- ◊●(O)●◊-


	5. Oneshots

Anime/Manga » Naruto » **Boxes**

Author: JellyfishBlues

"What sort of devil-rock is this?" Naruto gasps indulgently, pointing with a good bit of _oomph _at the peculiarly square and oddly textured _thing _on the ground before him. Sakura sighs to herself.

"Oh ho! So you saw past our disguise?" What can only be Konohamaru chirps from the box.

A sharp crack and a burst of smoke fills the air. A conveniently timed breeze reveals Konohamaru, Udon and Moegi on the ground, out cold.

"... little shit used knockout gas."

"What manner of sorcery is this where a square boulder doth follow my person?" Naruto gasps, recoiling from the fake rock sharply as Sakura groans on the sidelines.

"Yo ho! So you saw past my disguise eh? You're sharp as ever, boss!"

The box explodes in his face, showering the surroundings (mostly him) with tiny bits of gore and cardboard.

"... the little shit used too much gunpowder."

"Jesus _shit_! Hide your knick-knacks! The box people are here!" Naruto shouts, and Sakura rubs at her temples.

"Momma-mia! So you saw through our devious disguise, eh? Guess I can't fool you, boss!"

A sharp crack and the box bursts into flames. Three children emerge and start running about trying to quench the fire. Naruto sighs.

"... little shit used an incendiary bomb."

Naruto then personally stomps each and every fire out. Konohamaru never again hides in a box.

Because he _dies_.

_**End**__._

Anime/Manga » Naruto » **Madhouse**

Author: JellyfishBlues

His dream was a nightmare of teeth. On cold stone floors and still water he sat, waist deep blinking with ocean blue eyes. Menacing snapping-clacks of gleaming daggers leered behind rust iron bars-and he could feel their eyes on him (eyes of chitin and bone that would never tire- and didn't you notice? They won't wait much longer for a taste).

Some part of him wanted to run, the part behind his eyes that realized but wouldn't put it into words (only that nagging-itch that you need to _run_ and keep running and never look back because if you do he'll gobble you whole-_and don't you realize? He's done waiting._)

Maybe it was closer - or maybe he was on his feet, sloshing through darkness with bleary legs that would realize too late (too fucking _late_) that they knew better (_and can't you see? He's so very hungry and why are you doing this?_)

He had to turn sideways to slide through the bars. His bare feet scraped painfully against the stone but he never got the chance to wince.

Phosphorescent eyes smiled and so did the teeth- vestiges of viscera, gore and clattering bone tainting the water red (red-and where have you gone? He is only teeth after all –teeth with no tongue made for tearing what they can never digest)

(_And don't you realize? He is full.)_

.~.

Anime/Manga » Naruto » **Ribcage**

1. Mizuki smiles genially, offering a hand as he says again "-Meet me in the forest, nine, you know where." (I'll see you there, won't I? - He adds with a chuckle - and Naruto is too caught up in the smile to see the deceit in his eyes)

The Old man sleeps in his chair, paperwork stacked haphazardly around him, towers of oppressive white sharply contrasting with the after-hours gloom. Naruto can't help but smile at him and he backtracks his way out of the tower, the log-sized Forbidden scroll strapped across his back.

He meets Mizuki in the outskirts, the trees gently rustling as his teacher explains with cold precision why there is a two-foot shuriken pinning him to the ground. "You killed my sister, my parents, Iruka's too-" he snarls, his foot in the hole in the center of the weapon, grinding it deeper through Naruto's spine with every word. "- he'll be glad to see you dead!"

Iruka arrives too late, Naruto is on the ground, bisected and pouring onto the dirt like a tipped glass - and he doesn't understand how such a small child can produce so much blood. A hint of satisfaction is only smothered by the raw fear (or is it hope? he isn't sure) in his chest when Naruto turns his head.

Naruto is brought to the hospital, pieces tied together with wire and even after he recovers it takes Iruka a week to look him in the eye.

2. "...For example, Sakura! Kill Naruto or Sasuke dies!"

The feeling of a kunai sliding between his ribs, right below his heart (cold and wet for only a moment) – and through the searing pain he can see Kakashi's visible eye widen – Sasuke is alone on the ground – and Kakashi is before him (tearing out the kunai from between two fingers, smashing a burning green palm on the wound and bring up his free hand for a Shunshin.

'_I'm so sorry'_ Sakura later says through distracted green eyes, watching Sasuke scoff and walk away – and she still doesn't realize what she did, and she wont until the next person she stabs dies as she watches. Naruto doesn't bother saying anything – she's already gone.

3. Sasuke pins him with glowering eyes and shoves a hand through his chest -and it slides through his torso like wet paper-

'Oops,' Sasuke says, all mirth and spinning red-black eyes as Naruto gurgles on his own blood. 'I guess I missed your heart…'

Sasuke pulls his hand out with a wet _shluck_ and Naruto drops to the ground, eyes wide at the unearthly pain in his chest, smoldering, cauterizing pain, and he knows even through the agony that he'll live, the blood in his mouth is nothing. The tearing in his heart in nothing. And as the Uchiha turns and walks towards the patch of trees Naruto smashes a rasengan in his lower back.

He visits Sasuke in the hospital, pulls up a chair to his bedside and looks him in the eye as he says _'try to run away now.'_ And as the paraplegic glares up at him Naruto smiles, he smiles at the hint of confusion buried underneath the smoldering hatred; wondering '_how on earth are you still alive?'_

But Naruto only smiles. And ten minutes later he walks out.

Anime/Manga » Naruto » **Sasuke gets a splinter**

Sasuke gasps and recoils, pulls back his hand with a deliberate slowness, staring in abject horror at the bead of red swelling on the very tip of his index finger.

"… Hn…"

_Denial_

"Hnn… No , no." Sasuke grunts absently, "No, I'm fine. This isn't happening. This can't happen to me. I'm an Uchiha. An Elite. This is not real." His eyes widen, he pictures his hands, wrinkled, cold, smashing dough with his feet for the bakery where he works, because he cannot hold a kunai. Pictures himself, sitting on his bed, naked, staring at his crotch and weeping. He snarls and backhands some guy across the face, the man promptly breaking into tears and sprinting off.

_Anger_

Sasuke begins to hyperventilate, craning his neck to observe those around him. "Why…" He asks, pointedly at Naruto, though the blond turns on his heels not a moment later, forcing Sasuke to seamlessly switch over to some random person. "Why me?" He asks them emphatically, turns down to stare at his hand, grasping the offending finger with excessive force. "You hear me splinter? Huh! HUH? Fuck you, splinter! Fuck you and your splinter kids too!"

_Bargaining_

"What do you want? Huh?" Sasuke says behind his hand, as if revealing a great, and terrible secret. "Is this because of that time I smiled? I won't do it again, I swear!" He opens his mouth as if to continue, but adopts a sly expression and mutters quietly, "Everyone has their price… Fame? Fortune? Splinter-women? What do you want, hmm?"

…_Anger again_

"Silent treatment, huh?" He looks away from his finger, turning to a bystander to gesture and scoff wildly. "What, are you too good for my money? Huh? You wanna' throw down splinter-bastard? HUH? Answer me you prickly little fuck!"

_Depression_

"Why even bother… Itachi is way stronger than me… and he has better hair, and he's better looking… I swear I walked in on him one time and he had two penises… How the hell can I compete with that?... I can't go on… " He begins weeping profusely; curls into a tiny, fairly effeminate ball and heaves for around five minutes.

"…What did you just say?"

_Anger a third time_

"What the fuck did you just say to _me_? 'Itachi is _better _than me?' You think you can talk to me like that? I"LL KILL YOU! I, will fucking MURDER you!"

_Acceptance_

"I'm going to be okay… there are others out there with splinters, living full, older-brother-killing lives." Sasuke smiles - for around a second - and glances up at the now setting sun, brushing a stray lock of hair over his ear as a gentle breeze sweeps over the grassy plains he is suddenly standing in.

Also Kiba was there, and he nodded silently in the background, saying _'good for you, Sasuke… good for you…'_

Anime/Manga » Naruto » **The Spider and the Butterfly**

It was a tradition. An examination. An amusing inquiry that T&I always asked at the yearly psych evaluation of every rank. It was at the least utterly worthless, at the most it was a thinly veiled euphemism – and on occasion it was worth something, but when it was nothing good came of it.

"A Butterfly," they would say, "is stuck, in a spider's web. It's flapping, like it should," (and you know how delicate butterflies are -they add with a wry grin) "but it's not getting out. The Spider is going to eat it – drink out its insides. You, though. You can pluck that butterfly off the web. Or you can leave it."

"So?" (They would lean in and ask with an odd little (fake) smile, expecting and interested and always a bit conspiratorially.) "What would you do?"

A Genin would save the butterfly (all good, innocent happy smiles and fantasies of knights in shining armor and childhood stories where light prevails) because spiders are the sorcerers – the dark - the mercenary with a knife at an innocent woman's throat, because without her (the Butterfly) the Evil spider will slink away _defeated_ (and what has that butterfly done to deserve that cruel fate? Nothing. And good will always prevail, regardless)

A Chunin would leave them be (for the right or wrong reasons - matters of opinion, they think).

Exposure induces a form of Stockholm Syndrome – where the Chunin sinks or swims (and either way sees that the Man with the Knife at the woman's throat eats and breathes and feels pain just like theirs). But they forget that the world is not all black, and the Killer (sometimes them – now especially, with 'special' B class missions where all they do is kill, kill, kill- 'to get used to it', they say -

-without distinction, without hesitation, and maybe for an hour or a day or a year become the spider they despise and slit the Butterflies' throat-

-and they need to sink or swim, _sink or swim-and fucking realize that they need to act or they __**will **__die later on-to realize that being a Ninja is not 'right' or 'just' or 'Good' like in fairy tales._

A Jounin would leave them be (for the right reasons, they like to think - but realize it's just justification. Always has been always will be.)

The Circle of Life – nature – fate – because regardless of what they do someone/thing dies (and they'll have no more distinctions of Right and Wrong (that stopped at Chunin, and if it didn't you were dead) because sometimes they sit up at night and think about all the blood on their hands, and maybe this once they can look the other way-and what has that Butterfly done to deserve this? Nothing. But what has the Spider done to deserve being starved. _Nothing._ Because either way, someone/thing dies, and maybe this once they can not make the choice.)

An ANBU would kill them both.

Because their job is to kill the butterfly (And they realize that so long as Konoha was unharmed they would kill an innocent for money)

Because the suicide rate of BLACK OPS is one in three (sometimes higher, but never less)

Because sometimes they sit up at night heavy eyed, look at their porcelain mask, wondering when they became the shallow husk that could torture a child to death before it's fathers eyes and sleep through the night.

Because there are worse things than death - far worse (Because the Butterfly shouldn't be eaten alive, because the Spider shouldn't wither away starving mad. Because it's easier to see them both dead in an instant that see one fade away silently screaming- and maybe this way, just this once, they can say they cared (for both, for neither, maybe they never even cared in the first place.)

And They (the Interrogator) would smile and nod and do their damned best to be amiable (talking through gritted teeth, because somewhere along the line they forgot what a real smile looked like). And you, The Genin, the Chunin, the Jounin, the ANBU, you would smile back (and maybe notice how fucking _fake _everything in that room was -

but maybe not.

maybe you didn't even care.)

Anime/Manga » Naruto » **Zabuza's last request**

"Hey... Kid..." Zabuza chokes out, "... take me to Haku, would you?" The missing-nin grunts, less of a request and more of a demand - but as he bleeds out on the cold cement bridge, the tough-as-nails man shows a hint of humanity and Naruto can't find it in himself to deny the request. Weak as he is he manages to drag Zabuza the thirty feet to Haku's slowly cooling body, he can't find the energy to be annoyed about all the blood on his jumpsuit.

Naruto tries to gently lay Zabuza to the ground but he drops the man hard, grinning sheepishly as the man scowls up at him. But he doesn't hold the glare for long, turning to grimace at Haku with the last of his life. He sighs and rests his head on the ground.

"I always loved you Haku... even if I never admitted it -" he pauses and groans, growing paler and paler with every moment, "Haku... you're up _there_ aren't you?" He looks up at the cold blue sky with the smallest hint of envy, "You always were too innocent... of course you're there..."

He shudders and turns to face his apprentice once more. "...I don't think we'll meet where I'm going."

He sighs. "... Hey, kid."

"Hm?" Naruto starts, uncomfortable at being drawn into the moment. "...What's up?"

"There's something in my pocket... I ... I want you to have it..." He says heavily and Naruto swears he can see the last of Zabuza's life leaving his eyes. He acts quickly, dropping to his knees and reaching into the mans pants pocket; he doesn't know what he's expecting, but he assumes it's deeply personal.

As it turns out he grabs an oddly warm fistful of man-meat.

"That's... for call- for calling me... eyebrowless... you stupid... _bitch_... ugh..." Zabuza dies, and Naruto almost weeps.

"... This world wasn't good enough for you." he says thickly, and as he closes the mans eyelids with his fingers he knows deep in his chest that nothing will ever be as awesome as this dead man before him.

He pays his respects and stands, shooting a tired glance at Kakashi.

"...Let's get the _fuck_ out of here. I need to wash my hand."

Anime/Manga » Naruto » **The Day Sakura Swore Off Bathing**

Sakura would later look back on that day with all the fondness she has for indigestion; 'that day' being the title given to the day before yesterday, which was indeed horrid and generally unpleasant experience.

Maybe it was her that started the series of events and maybe it wasn't, but she was feeling sore and somehow it came to an agreement that Ino and herself would meet at the northern onsen give or take (exactly, as she is always exact about everything) seven hours from then, _then_ being around (exactly) 9:47am.

Ino promised to 'come alone.' Then she promised to 'definitely come alone' upon request because it's always a good idea to get things from Ino in duplicate.

Ino spent the next half hour drifting around Konoha looking for Sasuke and feeling like she'd forgotten something important. Another hour later Ino gives up and finds Sasuke's official keeper.

She finds Naruto where he always is, shoving things in his face in Ichirakus at an inhuman and undeniably impressive pace. Ino sits a seat or two from him to avoid splash damage and asks in a tone that she considers sultry, sexy, _voluptuous_, but Naruto finds so haughty and rude his ass-cheeks clench involuntarily.

She (basically) moaned to him to '_tell Sasuke I need to talk to him'_, and Naruto, repulsed and still cramming his face asked things like _'why_?' _'I can totally keep a secret'_ and _'you think you're better than me?_' while Ino waved her hand flippantly, as if saying "What? are you retarded?". Eventually Naruto, so appalled at her air of superiority, stored his next bowl of ramen in his ramen-sac and sprayed the molten delicious meal all over Ino's face. She ripped him a new one or course, and growled "_The Hot Springs you asshole!"_ as she stormed off, wringing out her shirt and giving him bystanders a healthy dose of sideboob. Naruto sat back on his stool like nothing happened and tried eating with the new hole Ino made. He honestly didn't know why she was so vulgarly rude but at least she gave him a new orifice.

Some random huge amount of ramen later Naruto set about finding the sort-of last Uchiha. He found Sasuke half-lounging half-brooding in a tree near the training grounds complex.

Naruto then harassed Sasuke until the brooding/lounging Uchiha was left with two options:

-go.

-_kill_ _Naruto_.

...also a third option of 'go _and_ kill Naruto'

Sasuke sighed and looked down from his tree, trying to convey 'will you shut up!' to Naruto through a quirk of his eyebrows. Naruto took it for Sasuke's 'ok' face, as opposed to Sasuke's 'mad' face, _which it was_, or his 'hn' face, which was his default expression.

Sasuke found himself out of the tree and exceeding acceptable skin contact not a moment later, he shook off Naruto and went off to find someone just as or quieter than him, Shino, as it turned out, was the first he found; training with his team on training grounds number seventeen.

Then Kiba farted, as he was prone to do around Naruto. For some reason they made each other gassy. He then invited himself and everyone around him, which happened to be the rest of his team and Kurenai.

Also, lee was there, for some obscure reason no one quite understood. Naruto nodded at him and Lee vomited sunshine all over his shoes.

And then in a particularly tree-like fashion those invited branched off several other invitations and somehow it ended up with just about everyone they knew swarming (like insects) to the onsen in northern Konoha. It was 4:45.

Naruto was skipping along with Kiba at the front, spewing charisma from all orifices, notably the new one Ino made for him, that thing was pretty handy. No one had commented on it yet but he was staying positive.

Kiba, a bad influence to children everywhere, was alongside Naruto, swaggering with his new skull-topped walking cane and pointedly ignoring the new mystery hole that had sprung up on Naruto's neck.

Chouji was eating, _boring._

Shikimaru and Sakura walked side by side at the back, sighing and barely connecting on a personal level.

Ino herself was talking Kurenai's ear off with the woman doing her best to seem interested, but at the same time preoccupied so Ino would think 'oh, she's busy' and just _stop. _No such luck.

Anko, who somehow caught wind of the event, was hanging off of the red-eyed woman doing her very best to spice up the day with some 'just friends' groping.

Also, Lee was there, riding the back of a fifty-foot-tall squirrel that everyone pretended not to notice.

Hinata didn't quite know what to do with herself so walked alongside Shino.

And that was how twelve Konoha ninja (four women and seven men) (and Anko) walked into the Northmost Onsen, and discovered that Sasuke had reserved the place for the day. Because Sasuke hates people and he really would like to keep contact to a minimum.

"Ahhn… fucking shit… Yeah baby, y-"

"Cut that shit out, Naruto" Shikamaru grunts to the blond, who after several minutes of a fairly erotic striptease was down to his last bit of clothing, a pair of boxers with ramen bowls dotted over the fabric. Naruto looks decidedly put-off and turns to him.

"Oi, I'm bearing my _soul _here Shikamaru, have a little compassion!"

Kiba, who until then had been chortling into his hand, adjusted his towel and calmed down with a deep breath. "Shikamaru is right, man. Besides, your technique is _way_ off."

"Fuck that and Fuck you 'stop dancing', I'm gonna keep dancing and you better fucking _appreciate _it!" It comes out gratingly high pitched.

"Stop swearing." Shikimaru quips.

"Seriously, dude... I'm getting bored. Now I love and respect you almost as much as I do Akamaru, but I feel like it's my responsibility to tell you that you've got no business stripping."

"What?" Naruto gasps, outraged, "I can so totally strip! Tell him Sasuke!"

"_No._"

"Look, you just don't have the attitude for it, 'yer too stiff."

"No I'm not! _Tell him Sasuke_!"

"_No!"_

"Yes you are," Kiba says chidingly, "You need to flow like water. Like sexy, sexy water. And you are not sexy water Naruto... I'm sorry... I'm so sorry..."

Naruto starts weeping into his hands and Kiba pats him reassuringly on the back, whispering such sweet nothings as _'that's right' _and _'let it all out'_.

"My, my, Kurenai, what _large_ breasts you have."

"Stop touching me, Anko" The red eyed woman grumbles to Anko, who through some form of slut magic had gotten undressed entirely too quickly and too thoroughly. "-and put on a towel for gods' sake."

"Don't tell me what to do!" Anko ripostes childishly.

Kurenai only sighs.

"Ho-ly _shit_, guys, look what I just found!" exclaims Kiba, sounding far too excited for it to be good. Everyone shares a meaningful glance and turns as one, and recoils as if struck. In Kiba's hands is a massive rubber phallus, writhing about like a frightened salmon. The boy looks creepily delighted.

silence.

"...Where'd you find that?" Naruto ventures, genuinely confused and a little concerned.

"Sat on it."

"...Would you like to rephrase that?"

"... perhaps."

another silence.

"It was in the water?" Naruto starts back up.

"Yeah."

"…How'd it get here?" Chouji grunts through the massive turkey-leg he pulled from his fat flaps.

"Someone probably 'snuck it in for some... reason..."

"…Who would bring something like that?" Sasuke says indignantly.

"Who _could _bring something like that?" Naruto adds meaningfully.

"...Someone with a _massive_ anus." Kiba quips.

"…Troublesome."

"My, my, Kurenai, what smooth thighs you have."

Sakura grunts as she looks down at her chest. Seriously, where was Hinata hiding those tits? Like freaking oranges on her chest. She glares at them a bit, almost expecting them to whither under her intense stare.

"Knock it off Anko!"

While she brooded a short scuffle began, Anko giggling lewdly as she puts her hands all sorts of places that Kurenai just doesn't really want touched at that particular moment. Hinata is dangerously close to passing out and Ino just _stares_, at the water.

Sighing wistfully.

"Ahhhhnnnm-Anko, not _there_!"

Anko's most likely perverted retort is cut off with a dull crack, as a cylindrical object bursts through the wooden separator, crunching a hole just above Ino's head. The girl stares up, wide eyed. The visible two feet of it jiggling furiously and finally sagging to where the length smacks her across the face and mockingly bobs up and down until going still. No one says a thing.

After a moment or two of silence a vague 'sorry' floats over.

Anko cackles.

"I'm the King of dildos!" Naruto declares haughtily, prancing about the water like a fairy princess among forest friends, Kiba's momentous find strapped to his head. The Inuzuka laughing so hard he is honestly afraid he'll shit himself. Chouji and Shino ignore the whole scene, Shikamaru has his head in his hands, and Sasuke is somewhere between 'rage' and 'aneurism', though he looks completely normal except his twitching eyebrows. No one was quite sure where (or _when)_ Lee had gone.

"Naruto!" Sasuke finally shouts.

"What's up?" he asks innocently, going into a twirl.

"What the _hell _are you doing?"

"Summoning the queen of unicorns through interpretive dance." He says whimsically.

"_Wrong. _The correct answer is; acting retarded. How about you sit down like you're in a damn bath for a bit."

Naruto stops mid-pirouette and points angrily, "Oi, I'm doing this for _your _benefit, the least you can do is appreciate it!"

"The hell are you on about?"

"Uh, DER! You think I _want _to do this! I'm doing this for you! For everyone! And you go and _yell_ at me? _What do you want from me-he-heee!_" He breaks down into sobs, each heave making the dildo jiggle. Kiba rubs his back consolingly and shoots Sasuke dirty looks.

Sasuke stands (and, making sure his towel is secure) snap-kicks Naruto in the shoulder, sending him spinning face first into the wall.

Oddly enough everyone glares at him for a reason he isn't all to sure of... were they mad about the kick? He kicks Naruto again to be sure and the looks intensify... _'so they are for that_' he thinks to himself. _'how peculiar_'. He sort of appologizes-ish through his teeth and sits, taking great pleasure as Naruto realizes how utterly _stuck _he is and starts flailing.

"My, my, Kurenai, what soft skin you have…" Kurenai mewls and squirms a bit and almost out of Anko's grasp, but two more arms appear from nowhere and restrain her. No one comments on that fact.

"Mnnnn…" she bites her lip. "Ankooo… Not in front of Hinata…"

Hinata herself was looking to all the world an embarrassed tomato. Swaying a bit as if drifting in and out of consciousness. Finally she falls face first in the water (though she's amazingly buoyant) and Sakura takes it upon herself to prevent possible drowning... she flips her over at least. Those massive breasts just stare back at her... mocking her...

"You think you're better than me?" Sakura shouts at Hinata's chest. She turns and savagely points at Anko, who in turn points at herself innocently with a fifth hand that comes out of nowhere. "Yes, _you_! Stop molesting her"

"Hey, a little molestin' never hurt nobody." Anko says defensively.

"Yes it has!"

"... Not _physically_."

"Yes physically!" Sakura shouts exasperated.

"Oh so now you have a PHD in molesting all the sudden?" Anko snarls, another hand sprouting and pointing accusingly at her, "You're an _expert_ on molestation now? Tellin' me_ my _business, _girl_, where do you get off?"

"Oh goddamnit!"

"You believe the balls on this girl?" She says confidingly to Kurenai.

"_Anko_, _seriously_-aahn"

"_Ahhn… mnn…Anko, knock it off…" _

"Seriously, what's going on over there?" The Blond asks aloud. Kiba, ear-to-wall, turns, shrugs, (farts), and belly-flops into the water, finding that it is really not as deep as it looks.

Naruto turns suddenly. "Hey, we're friends, right?" he asks Sasuke, who, having run out of space to edge away, was pinned between a wall.

"Huh?" He grunts eloquently.

"Friends- we're friends… Right?... I mean…" he turns away abashedly, thumb to his lips with a cheek-spanning blush.

Sasuke pointedly ignores him.

"Sasukeeeee! C'mon! We're friends right? Aren't we? Heeeey! Sa-Su-_Keeee_!"

"… hn…"

Naruto sqeals and claps girlishly, before slipping one arm over the now very uncomfortable Uchiha.

"I _knew _it, of course we're friends. Bestest friends _foreverest_, right? Riiiiiiight? _Right?"_

Sasuke sighs.

"Ooooooi! Right?"

His eye twitches violently, and he glares over at the expectant mostly-naked-person. "… Will you _leave_?"

"Sasuke!" Naruto gasps, sounding scandalized. He shoots a flustered glance at the Aburame in the far corner. The Aburame turns to them and Naruto averts his gaze quickly. He leans in conspiratorially and whispers "Not in front of_ Shino_."

His eyebrow twitches again.

"Go. _Away_."

Very slowly, Naruto's other hand rises from the water. Sasuke twitches. It was getting close to his face. His _face_. If Naruto thought he could _pinch_ his cheeks then he's about to find out how well water conducts electricity. Really fucking well, as it turns out. But he refrains from electrocuting the small group of people and instead casually slaps the hand out of the air.

Naruto grunts and tries again. "_Say it!"_

"_No!" _slap.

"_Sayit!"_

"_**No!" **_fucking _slap_!

A series of splashes and exclamations. Then, all noise comes to an abrupt halt.

Pause.

"EEEW! EEEEEW! THEY TOUCHED, THEY _TOUCHED_!"

"Shut the _fuck_-up!"

Kurenai makes all sorts of noises that Sakura really doesn't want to hear. Writhing about, flaunting her breasts like she's _better _than her. Well she's not.

Hinata starts drifting away so Sakura has to anchor her to something, because she doesn't trust Anko with Hinata's body. Not a bit. And despite the desire to just leave, because really that seems like a good choice, She doesn't want to have to walk past... them. They were blocking the exit those clever large-breasted bastards. They think they're better than her?

"You're not better than me goddamnit!"

"Ahhn… mnnyes… ah-right there-" Kurenai tosses her head.

"_EEEW! EEEEEW! THEY TOUCHED, THEY TOUCHED!"_ roars over.

"aah-mmnah-yes… oh, Ankooo-aa-"

"_Shut the fuck up!"_

Sakura hates her life.

"Mnnn-ah! So… mnnn… so good…."

She hates it so very, very much.

Somewhere along the line the already poor atmosphere had degenerated to the point that Kiba initiated a farting contest about 'who could make the biggest bubbles', challenging Naruto (who was all too happy to join) and declaring anyone unwilling to join a 'pussy-footed-wuss-monger', whatever the hell that meant. Chouji, who'd been holding several in ever since he'd gotten in the water agreed if only for a cover. Shikimaru had left. No one was sure when or how. Sasuke had _tried _to escape but Naruto caught him in ways that would never be spoken of again. Shino still hadn't moved.

_**Blubblub…**_

"…Ooh dude! Gross!" Naruto fans at the air to no effect. Kiba preens.

Naruto screws up his face.

_**Blu…lub…**_

"What does this smell like?" The Inuzuka chokes out though laughter.

"Ramen, of course!"

Sasuke just sighs from his perch, far, far away from the idiots.

Chouji grunts and curls up, seemingly flexing every muscle in his body.

The water explodes. A quick series of rapid-firing bubbles the size of apples, followed by of a space probably double the size of Chouji himself hollowing out behind him. The floor of the bath visible for a good second before the water fills in the gap. Naruto's cheeks flap. It takes a moment for the shock to wear off.

"Ahhh! Ye-aahhmnnn… Yes! Ahhn-Ankoo… I… mmmn… I lo-"

"OHMY_GOD_!"

"I"MGONNAPUKE!"

"CHOUJI! WHAT THE FUCK DID YOU _EAT_!"

"I – I – BLUUUUUURGH!"

"OHH! DUDE!" a cough, "GR- GROSS!... I-RAAAAOUGHH!"

"BLLAAAAARGH!"

"Ahhn... Anko-!"

"OOOULLGH… BLUUGH!"

"WHAT'S HAPPENING! **WHAT'S! HAPPENING**!"

… Sakura hates her life. So very, very much.

Sakura gave up exactly one minute later and left with Hinata in tow, who she had to shake pretty hard to wake. The next day she would once again go to the baths, alone this time, only to find that they were closed for repairs. She would receive a bill for the cost of replacing the water and fixing the hole in the wall two days after in the mail, she would not pay.

Kurenai officially cut off relations with Asuma. Everyone knew what was up. Even Asuma, who was actually a bit excited.

Ino left the baths feeling more relaxed than she had in years, and would say so to Sakura and find a foot in her crotch not a moment later.

Lee was just _gone_. He would turn up three days later eight feet taller and acting like he'd been there the whole time. No one said a thing.

Chouji lost ten pounds... he would later gain ten pounds.


End file.
